Monopoly
by jiemae
Summary: And just like that, she watched the pieces fall. [OC!Self Insert]
1. Paper Flower

**Monopoly - ****独占**

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_**1**_

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_**Summary:** And just like that, she watched the pieces fall. [OC!Self Insert]_

_**Disclaimer For the Entire Story:** I do not own Naruto, nor its characters._

_**TW For This Chapter:** Blood, death, hunger_

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The day had been a normal one.

The sun was hardly present due to the clouds and rainfall, but that was just fine for the family of four as they ate their breakfast quietly. They were hardly the chatty type, mostly comfortable in clean silence, save for rare occasions when the two daughters would get excited. That was to be expected being as they were still at the young ages of immaturity and prone to odd outbursts. Their parents didn't mind much, however. They just smiled and listened on with tired, yet shining eyes as either the oldest or the youngest would go on a tangent about something they'd found interesting today.

After all, hearing stuff like what new folding technique Konan had learned, or what kind of fighting techniques the youngest one _wanted_ to learn but couldn't due to her age, was much better than hearing about the war raging on outside. Kyoumi, who had left being an active duty shinobi in the weakened, sloppy Ame forces, had stayed with her two daughters at home, taking care of them despite her body being frail, and sickly. She wasn't that affected by the war, save for the dangers of traversing to the market alone but she was still able to handle a few stray shinobi even with her current condition. However, the way she was most affected was by way of her husband, still in the active rosters and leaving on frequent missions to serve. He usually came back home, tired, weary, and shaken by the horrors he had seen. Last night hadn't been any different, so being worried for his healthy and sanity, Konami searched for something to say that would distract him.

"Daddy," she started out with hesitantly, trying for a smile as his eyes met hers, "Konan taught me to make a lily, did you know? I really want to learn how to make a hydrangea but Konan was saying how it's too hard for me right now," She pouted, looking at her blushing sister, who wasn't expecting to be called out like that, "Why does everyone think I'm too young to anything?" Konami inquired the room, only receiving a small smile from her mother, and a lazy smirk from her father. _Seriously,_ she thought to herself,_ they should just let me start learning the shinobi arts soon._ It might be weird, given her fore-ward knowledge of the escalating events that would occur in this world, that she was so ready to start fighting and training. But to her, it wasn't so black and white. She didn't particularly _want_ to be born into a village that would be ransacked by war. She just knew that this was her situation and she would have to prepare herself for the worst to come. Konami also knew that she would have to do her best for her older sister, to help her gain her happiness. The only thing was that those memories of a distant past were fading to the outskirts of her subconscious.

She wasn't particularly pleased with that, but she knew that had been something she would have had to be ready for. Which was probably why every time she awoke from a nightmare, she would write it down in English. By now, being she had been two when she had first managed to write down a sentence, she had three completely filled brown leather notebooks that she kept it in doors so that it wouldn't get wet. So far no one had asked her what any of it meant, even when Konan had come into her bedroom why she was still recalling the vivid scene of the Yondaime Hokage's death. She had probably looked troubled but Konan was a patient soul and was probably waiting for Konami to talk first.

It was something she had greatly appreciated at the time, and even today she hadn't spoken a word about anything. She didn't want them to know she had another set of parents and siblings in the past because it would just cause trouble. She no longer thought of that old life as something to do with her, and now it was just a helpful guide-book from some other girl who had lived in another dimension or world. It might have been odd, but that life felt _other_ and not hers. This life right now was hers. It didn't matter much to her that she hadn't been alive in the story version that girl had obsessed with. To the best of her knowledge, Konan never had a little sister but she was here now.

Konami was curious to know if anything else was different but she had yet to see anything substantial.

"When do you think I'd be able to learn how to fold a hydrangea?"She had asked Konan, continuing on the conversation as if she had never been lost in thought in the first place.

Konan considered this, "Hmm, probably when you turn six."

Konami huffed out a sigh, "That's like," she counted in her head, "six months away!"

Her older sister just giggled, "That's when_ I_ learned it, silly. Aren't you always saying how you'll follow in my footsteps?"

She pouted but before she could open her mouth to reply, she and her father froze, the three chakra signatures being easy to pick up even at a distance. They met each others eyes before he said slowly and clearing, taking time to make every syllable clear and concise, "Go to the hideout, both of you."

Knowing better than to disobey, Konami hopped down from her seat at the table, tugging on Konan's shirt hem to release her from such a stiff form. The two then traversed the halls of their tiny home before heading into their parents bedroom, heading into the spacious closet as they lifted the loose floorboards gingerly before slipping into the hole that was revealed. There was more than enough room for all four of them she noticed as Konami took special care in placing the floorboards over their heads. She ended up needing Konan's help but after they were safely hidden, a candle lit in the tiny space, she found herself leaning against her older sister for support.

She suppressed her chakra and waited for Konan to respond in kind. It wasn't something their father had taught them. It was just something that came rather easy to her. Chakra was fun to play with after all, and as a baby she'd been particularly bored most of the time. Thus she learned to suppress her chakra early on. It had been something that had alarmed her parents at the time, but it had come in handy from time to time in such a dangerous time. Seeing for what it was, their father promptly taught Konan to suppress her own.

Distantly, as the two waited for their parents to join them, there was a shriek, jolting them out of their thoughts.

"What do you think that was?" Konami asked in a whisper only to see Konan shrug. She felt her blood freeze as her stomach dropped. She felt she was going to be sick but decided that staying put was the best plan of action.

Again, someone shrieked and seemingly fell to the ground as she distinctly heard the sound vibrations carry their way over to them. She found herself shaking and with wide eyes, she realized that the chakra signature of her mother was fading. It was too slow for it to be that she was just suppressing it. Like a slap to the face she realized that Kyoumi was dying.

She listened in more closely, assuming from the way that the vibrations traveled that there was a skirmish occurring. From the way her father's chakra spiked up told her that he was struggling in his outnumbered match. Konami very nearly left the hideout to help him but she had to sourly remind herself that she would be useless to him. Neither of them could help him now. They would just be getting in the way.

With a muffled cough, Konami found herself sitting with her knees to her chest. Konan mirrored her but sat besides her as she draped an arm over her little sister. That cough seemed to be, like most times, a mere prelude to a coughing fit as she covered her mouth with both hands and begged her body to stop.

Her body was shaking with how powerful they were and only after a minute or so did she finally calm down, pulling her hands away to see the barest traces of blood. She ran her tongue through her mouth,decidedly tasting her own blood. Quickly she wiped her hands down her indigo skirt, glad that her sister wasn't looking at her. Konami couldn't bare to tell her the truth of her illness. Even after her parents had managed to pay for a doctor's visit some time ago, it had proven to be useless as they diagnosed her with a sickness that hadn't been treated yet. It was rare, apparently, so rare that most people her age with it hadn't lived as long thus making developing a treatment difficult.

Apparently her innards were deteriorating due to her cells being slow to replace themselves. In theory, she could possibly speed up the process with chakra, by converting them to cells but she hadn't taken any steps to find out if it was possible, nor did she know _how_. Perhaps, even in the actual story, Konan had a little sister that had fallen prey to the illness.

Did that mean she would die soon?

The thought of death never really scared her, even if she had forgotten what was meant to happen directly after one died. It was just a simple thing, when one's body just gave up and the soul it caused sorrow around the world. She supposed that was a good thing. How was one to grow if they never experienced any hardships?

Konami decided that she would do her best to live long enough to secure her sister's happiness.

She shook her head. This wasn't even such a time or place to get lost in thought. She felt for her father's chakra, finding it waning as her mother's had. With a grimly set jaw, she realized that she would have to take care of her older sister alone. This was the day Konan had become an orphan.

Surprisingly, she felt very little emotion for her parents death. They had shared good memories, yes, but their time had come, as regrettable as it had been.

"Konan," Konami murmured softly.

"What is it? What's happening?"

"They're dead. Our parents are gone," Konami's voice was so soft it didn't allow for any other emotion aside from regret. Their death wouldn't be in vain, she decided. Konan, at the very least, would get out alive.

The muffled sob that came forth urged the younger her to scoot in closer, eyes dark as she wrapped her arms around Konan's shoulders.

Let it be said again. The day had been a normal one. After all, death couldn't even be considered a tragedy in such a place where it was common.

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**Paper Flower - ****紙花**

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"Run," Konan ordered, her voice calm even as the small girl wasn't. Still, the girl couldn't do what her older sister wanted of her. She had taken a vow, after all. She couldn't just leave her big sister to fend for herself.

The rain was pouring down heavily, the very sound of it blaring as anyone caught under it was instantly soaked. The two girls hadn't been an exception. Around the two of them was slick mud, forcing them to huddle close together for warmth, having found shelter beneath a tree. Anytime now, however, they would be caught and killed by the men who had just murdered their parents. It wasn't a situation she wanted to be in, but she was too shocked to feel much of anything at that moment.

"I can't do that," The small, azure haired girl whispered back, coming to grasp on to Konan's shirt hem as if it were the only thing that could keep her sane. It most likely was. The very act of escaping their old home had sent her nerves into a panicked, disarranged mess.

"Don't be silly, Konami," The older one murmured, brushing aside the bangs that had been plastered to the small girl's forehead. Konami shuddered, suddenly feeling the chill of the biting cold. Ame was always such a cold place. If she was honest with herself, she held no hopes for it ever being anything different.

"I'm not," She spoke softly even as her voice shook, "I'm not being silly. We both live or die. There is no other option."

Her sister sighed, before nodding, her amber eyes soft, "Alright, but we have to hurry. They're close by."

"I know," Konami winced, she had always been able to tell when people were there. Their presences practically begged for her attention, the way their chakra signature invaded her senses.

Her calm older sister surveyed their area before pointing to what looked like just a huge pile of rocks that were slowly being decayed over time due to the acidic rain. She cleared her throat, "If I remember correctly, there should be a hide out over there. Father was very adamant about us going there if anything were to go wrong."

"Something went wrong," Konami muttered with dry humor. Something _had_ gone wrong - horribly, tragically wrong.

"Then let's go."

With determined footsteps, the smaller girl held on to her sister's hand tightly. The two of them were silent while Konami kept a vigilant watch for the men pursuing them. They had felt like shinobi, by way of how intense their signatures felt but she had never gotten a good look at them. Well, if she were thinking this through, they would have _had_ to be shinobi if they managed to tear up her parents like that.

Konami could still see it now, in her head. She winced, thinking of how their blood had spilled around their bodies, they're once azure hair dyed with red. They're eyes had looked so...lifeless. Which, Konami thought, was the point. She didn't feel much of anything that she thought she was supposed to feel when someone close to you died. There was no heartache or regret, just...

She felt hollow about it, and that somewhat terrified her.

Or she was just afraid of the men chasing them, knowing her sister and her wouldn't stand a chance.

Soon, the two girls had managed to find an opening to a tiny cave, one which had been hidden by shrubbery and bramble. She felt an odd sense of satisfaction when they fit inside of it, only to find two bags. They were both filled to the brim with non-perishables, a med-kit and a pack of kunai that both of them had been trained to use. There was also some folding paper, curiously enough. But it only rang true to how much their father had known of them, and cared.

That was when Konami felt a hint of the sadness, the ache, she had known she was supposed to feel.

Her older sister grabbed on to the paper, taking a sheet before handing it to Konami who also took one. The two got to work on their folding and before long, they each had a second piece in hand, two beautifully crafted flowers to the left of them. They were only a tad bit soggy.

The rain outside was still thundering and the two of them were still completely soaked, but the air felt lighter there, _safer_.

The paper was getting wet by her hands and dripping hair.

"K-Konan?" Konami asked, her voice coming out as a whispered croak.

"Hm?"

"Can you braid my hair like you always do?"

"Come here," Konan patted her lap, having put aside her half-finished paper bird. Slowly, Konami came forward and was soon rested between her older sister's legs. They didn't have a brush, so they substituted it with her fingers, making careful work of the long blue locks of hair. Soon, her long hair hung in two long braids. Konami had been known, after all, for her hair in their tiny village. But...that was before the Second Shinobi World War had started. Now, things were all different.

She didn't move away from her sister and instead leaned into her warmth before picking a piece of paper, "I'll make you a pretty lily flower for _your _hair," she murmured softly, quietly. Konan nodded against her head, eyes watching the younger ones hands. They were smaller than the older ones, being as she was still five, on the cusp of her sixth year (if you counted in months, that is). Konan was older by an entire year and a couple of months, making it so that she was six at the moment, but would soon be turning seven a little later than she did six. Konami had used to resent the distance of age every time their father had taken Konan aside for her training. Apparently, for one to start learning how to be a proper shinobi in this world, you at least had to be five. Her father had fallen prey to puppy eyes when he allowed her to at least start throwing kunai when she turned four. It was the only thing Konami knew how to do and without a teacher or someone to help, what were they to do?

Her hands paused.

Konami didn't recall very well what had happened to her older sister but she had the feeling it hadn't been good. Aside from the traces of memories from her past life, Konami was relatively unaffected that her sister was a character in a story she read a long time ago. It just didn't matter when you loved someone as much as she loved Konan.

"Something wrong?" Her sister had asked and Konami shook her head. _Aside from what just happened_, was the unspoken addition to her words.

"I'm thinking," She replied with, but just to be sure that was it, she expanded her senses and found that the only chakra signatures around were the animals taking cover from the still falling rain. She was half-amazed that there were things that could live outside in such weather. Sure, Ame had rare sunny days but most days were clouded or raining. The best they could get when it was raining was a soft shower, but never anything less, "They're gone...I think. But they might be back."

"We should stay here for tonight than and head out tomorrow into town. We'll need to get jobs," Konan decided and Konami nodded before realizing that there was a problem with that plan.

"I wonder how we'll get jobs being this young. We're tiny and clumsy."

It felt like her sister was hesitating to reply, probably just finally seeing how precarious their situation was, "We have enough food to last us a week, if we ration it properly. If we have to..." Konan sighed, "Let's just at least go to town to see what they have to offer."

"Okay," Konami agreed, before leaning away to face her sister. With a bright smile, she showed her the folded lily, "Let's put this in your hair first though..." She bit her lip as she placed the stem behind her sister's hair, arranging her hair to cover it up, "Beautiful."

At Konan's cheerful smile, her amber eyes lighting up, she knew that her sister liked it, "Thank you."

"As long as we have each other, everything will be fine," Konami informed her confidently before sliding back to rest on her sister's chest.

"I think so too."

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**Paper Flower - ****紙花**

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"Get out! Get _out_," The matron of the restaurant shouted at the two frazzled girls, as the woman held a pan, ready to chuck it at them, "We don't need rats like you around!"

The words stung and she nearly winced outwardly but instead, she grabbed hold of Konan's hand, who stood still, a frightened expression on her face. Even with her being the oldest in physical age, Konami had dealt with more than a fair share of harshly spoken words. Though it had been awhile since it had happened, she couldn't help but recover faster as lead her sister away from the woman and lead her to an alley. It stunk with the smell of rotting, molded food but she didn't mind.

"We just need to try again, Konan," Konami insisted as she watched her sister begin to shake, tears in her eyes.

"We've already tried six shops, three restaurants, and two-," Konan cut herself off as she shook her head, pulling her sleeve up to wipe the tears away, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to bring you down. I'm sorry."

With nothing to say, she ended up just gripping the older girl in a hug, "I know, Konan, I know." Her voice was still soft as ever in a soothing manner, "We need to figure something out, we're almost out of food..."

It had been exactly five days since they had been on their own, coming to town everyday but heading to their hideout every night to sleep. They hadn't stepped foot into their family home, knowing that their parents bodies were still there, rotting in its moist environment. It almost made her nauseous to think about it and suddenly she was coughing again. She brought her tiny hands up to cup her face as she tried to contain her fit.

She ended up bending forward, the pain spreading out from her torso and into her very bones as she continued to cough. Konan had come around to rub her back but it didn't do much in terms of helping her. Konami struggled to breathe through her nose as tears reflexively built up in her eyes. Her older sister ended up having to lean her up against the wall of the establishment to the their left. The rain continued to pour, making Konami shake not just from her coughing fit but from the cold as well.

"I'm going to go get help," Konami distantly heard stated by Konan as she was left, still trying to contain her coughing. With wide eyes she felt her hand be covered in something thicker than rain after one final cough. She pulled her hand away to see blood pulling over her palms. She knew instinctively that her lower face was most likely covered in it too. Looking around with what was assuredly a dazed expression, she searched something to rub it onto, so that her sister didn't see.

"I'm f-fine," Konami stuttered out in a thin whisper. Talking seemed to only agitate her throat more and she winced because, no. She was not fine.

"I'll take you guys to my hideout then," an unfamiliar voice claimed, "It's close by."

"Th-Thank you," Konan's voice replied and at the sounds of pattering footsteps, Konami looked up to the alley entry to see her sister and a slightly familiar orange haired boy come close to her.

"She looks in bad shape," the boy murmured, eyes widening as he took in the sight of blood on my hands and face, "Do you need me to carry you? I'm taking you and your sister to my place to get out of the rain. This area isn't so good for a tiny kid like you."

Konami mutely shook her head at the offered hand and instead used the wall as support as she clawed her way up to a standing position. She was stronger than looked, even despite her sickness and was able to stand this much strain on her body.

"Someone who can bounce back on their own, I see," the boy before her grinned, "I like it."

"Yahiko-san..." Konan sounded softly hesitant as he spun on his heel, "I don't know how we'll repay you for your kindness."

Yahiko... Now, why did that sound so familiar to her? With a jolt, Konami realized that this was the boy who teamed up with Konan to help her survive in this village. It might have been funny, but Konami instantly trusted him, assured that she had at least made it to live to see her sister in safe hands.

"We..." Speaking hurt but she went on, "should go."

"Right!" Yahiko cheered, even as he gave slightly agitated stare toward Konan, "You don't have to repay me. Also," his expression softened, "Drop the honorifics. By the way your clothes look, you've been on your own for awhile. I have too. It's a given that us orphans have to stick together in times like this."

As he had spoken more, being the chatty type, Konami was surprised by how quickly she had taken a liking to him, even more so surprised by how companionable he was so quickly with the two girls.

Not long after, as the three of them trudged someplace out of the tiny village and back into the rocky, mud filled outskirts, they journeyed to an unsuspecting little cave, which had been hidden by an artfully made blanket out of wildly growing vines. When they took a step inside and Yahiko lit up a candle it became clear that this place had been lived in for quite a bit of time. A pile of dried, wrinkly clothes sat in the corner, a wide pot with a grilling plate set on top of a pile of stones with charred sticks inside looked to serve as his stove, and the wide futon looked like the most comfortable thing in the world to Konami as she thought back to the past days of sleeping on rocks. Her back ached just recalling it.

Yahiko pointed to a corner of the cave with two sheets creating a makeshift room, "I put those there to dry but you both can use it to change out of your wet clothes. I'll get you something warm..." The orange haired boy looked busy as his chocolate-brown eyes roved over his pile of clothes. At that, Konami wasted no time in heading to behind the curtains as she slipped off her soggy, dripping clothes. Konan followed quickly after with a pile of new clothes in her hands. She held it carefully out to the naked girl and the younger one took it.

She was soon dressed in a periwinkle blue shirt and black shorts. Being as it may, Konan was in a similar outfit of a light green shirt and indigo shorts. The two girls revealed themselves to Yahiko as he busily set up a fire in the pot.

When he laid eyes on Konan, a slight blush on her face, he responded in kind, cheeks flaming as he fanned the sparks in the pot. Then, with obvious difficulty, he looked at Konami, brows creasing as he took her presence in.

"Are you okay?"

Konami nodded, working her dripping hair into a sloppy braid before coming to relax comfortably on the futon. It felt warm in the cave, warmer than she recalled any other place being. There was a glow in her heart as she saw that Konan could be happy with Yahiko here, even if she were to pass sometime soon.

"Does that happen a lot?" He was asking as he sat next to her on the futon, brows still furrowed in concern, "I don't have any medicine to help," he rubbed the back if his neck, "Sorry about that."

Konami shook her head and forced herself to speak, "There isn't a treatment to my condition."

"Oh."

"It could be out there somewhere, you know," Konan murmured softly as she settled herself behind her little sister, pulling the hair out from her messy braid and going through with her fingers to comb it out.

Konami just shrugged, passive about the whole thing. She just cared if her sister made it in this world. It didn't matter that she could die at any moment. In a way, it was like that for anybody else. Her situation just made it more obvious.

"Konami," Konan murmured in a warning tone, causing the young girl to sigh, wincing as it strained her vocal chords. After a moment of silence, her older sister cleared her throat, "We'll be gone as soon. Sorry for the intrusion."

"There isn't any need to be so formal," Yahiko frowned before leaning back against the futon, releasing a groan of comfort, "Can you imagine that I lugged this thing across the mud at night, while it was raining? It took days to get it cleaned and dried but it was _well_-worth it."

"Admirable," Konami simply tacked into the conversation.

"It gets lonely out here, you know," Yahiko continued on as if she hadn't spoken, "I'm by myself all day unless I go into town but even then it isn't like I have any friends. You two are lucky, I guess."

Konan's hands paused in Konami's hair, and she heard her swallow, "I'm sorry about that."

"Is this your roundabout way of saying the two of us are welcome here?" The younger one asked, a slight smile dancing on her lips. It felt nice that it was there. God only knows that she hadn't done enough of it lately.

"I guess so," Yahiko sounded shy, his voice muffled and Konami looked back to see him covering his face with his arm, "I guess what I'm trying to say that I think we should give a partnership a try."

"A partnership?" Konan sounded surprised, but not against it, "What would that entail?"

"We'll share our stuff with each other," he suggested, sounding thoughtful and Konan resumed the braiding of her little sister's hair, "and you guys can help me with fishing, hmm, and cooking. When we go into town, it will be to steal things."

"St-steal things!?" Konan was alarmed but slowly melted into understanding, "I guess that makes sense. We can't seem to get jobs and yet we need things to live... I'll help you in any way I can."

"Me too," Konami softly added on.

"So... Then, I guess we're sort of like family, right?" Yahiko laughed, arousing a small grin out of Konami, "First names. You're Konan, and the little one is...Konami, right?"

"Yes."

"What's your ages? Oh, yeah, birthdays?" The orange boy seemed ready to tack on more questions but stopped himself when Konan finished up the braid and Konami was able to turn and look at both of them.

"I'm five. Konan is six."

"I'll be turning seven next month though," Konan added on as an after thought to his second question.

"Really?" Yahiko sounded and looked excited, "Me too! What day?"

Konan went on to tell him as Konami laid down, getting comfortable in the middle of them as her head suddenly felt heavy and clouded. Out of habit, Konan came to stroke the sickly girl's hair which only seemed to add to her sleepiness as the sound of their talking voices lulled her to sleep.

Konan gazed at her little sister with slight worry before she met the gaze of the strange boy before her, "It seems she might have a fever."

Yahiko looked thoughtful before murmuring softly, conscious of the sleeping girl, "How long has it been like this?"

Konan shrugged, "She's been sickly since she was a baby. Apparently she wasn't meant to live longer than a year but she ended up beating the odds and here she is." Usually you couldn't see it, thanks to her vivid and lively amber eyes, but her little sister was very fragile. Kind of like a paper flower was to the rain.

She looked outside the tiny window of the cave and Yahiko's eyes followed her gaze.

"She should have been born in a place with a rainless sky," she whispered.

"I'm going to... I'll stop it, you know," Yahiko murmured to her, almost desperately as they met each others gaze, "I'm going to stop the rain one day."

It might have been a ludicrous thing to say, being as the rain never truly stopped in such a country, filled with destruction and death. Yet Konan felt chills go down her spine as she smiled despite herself. She gave a nod before laying down next to her sister, keeping a watchful eye on her before Yahiko blew the candle light out even as the fire crackled on in the pot. The flames licked the sides of it, casting playful shadows on the walls and with that, the first time since her parents had died and her whole world had shattered, she fell asleep with a smile.

* * *

**Paper Flower - ****紙花**

* * *

Konami awoke, startled as she sat up quickly and surveyed her surroundings with wide eyes. It took her a moment to recall what had happened last night and she self-consciously felt her throat, swallowing before giving a slight cough. Her throat hurt as usual and she felt thirsty.

Debating in her head over the right course of action, she shook Yahiko awake, who groggily opened his eyes and yawned. Then he blinked once more as he sat up just as quickly as she had. Expect no one had been leaning over her and he did. Biting back an expletive as she cupped her forehead in pain, she squirmed as she refused to vocalize anything as she worriedly looked back at Konan, who was still sound asleep. Good.

"Sorry!" Yahiko whispered to her and she shook her head as she gaze one last rub to her forehead.

"Water," Konami winced at how scratchy her soft voice sounded as she swallowed in hopes that her saliva would beg off the sore pain.

The orange haired boy blinked before smiling as he pointed to the bucket at the entrance of the cave, "That's the clean water I collect."

Konami nodded, making a mental note to ask how he had gotten it before hopping off of the futon and padding her way toward the bucket. After taking a generous gulp of the lukewarm water and setting it down, she made we way back but not before tripping over a wayward bundle of clothes. She went down with a yelp and landed on both of Yahiko, who took in a sharp breath, and Konan, who jolted awake with a gasp.

"Sorry," Konami muffled out a response as they rested like that for a moment before there was the small sound of laughter resounding in the tiny cave.

The youngest of the three scrambled off as she sat up, looking as serene as she could, her hair in a glorious tangle of knots and her amber eyes wide as she watched as the older kids be taken in by the laughter. She was too afraid to join in, but she would have if it weren't for her throat. Konami was merely thinking of keeping their laughter a treasure, the influence of a coughing spell nowhere to be seen. Still, she found her eyes softening as her lips tilted up into a small smile.

"You're so clumsy Konami!" Konan burst out with as she rubbed stray tears from her eyes.

"Heh," was the barest chuckle she could manage as she simply smiled on before bringing a gently rolled up fist to bonk her head. She supposed it was meant to be cute when other girls did it but it seemed to send the two kids into a renewed laughing fit. She might have actually broken them?

"Clueless!" Yahiko managed out as he clutched his stomach and Konan rolled on the futon, her laughter silent as she struggled to breath.

Konami pouted, "I'm not clueless." In fact, she seemed to be the only one in the room with her head on straight.

With a resigned sigh, she sat back on her knees and waited patiently for them to calm down. Soon after, they had managed to reign it in the form of a warm smiles and bright eyes. It made them look their age, for once, and not the war weathered orphans they all were.

"What are we going to do about food?" She was asking, her frail voice never above a whispers. She wished that she could speak as she once could in the past, freely and without strain. Yet by mixture of the biting cold and her disease, it didn't bode well for her body, which felt weaker by the day.

"There's a lake I fish at. We can bring my tarp so we don't get wet," Yahiko suggested, "I'm not always lucky in catching fish but when I am, it usually results in a feast," Yahiko looked sheepish as he went on, "My dad didn't really teach me to fish so I'm kind of just guessing about it," He grinned, eyes glowing with confidence and the two sisters exchanged looks before nodding enthusiastically. It had been far too long since they had eaten fish, being as for the last year or so, they had lived off of a type of mush that their mother had called porridge.

"Isn't fishing illegal?" Konan was curious about it and I shrugged, with a helpless nod.

"That just means we have to be quick about it," the younger one was saying blithely, only gaining a pat on the back by Yahiko.

"Any means for survival, right?"

With that, Konan nodded.

"Alright, but for right now," Konami pointed to their bags after her stomach grumbled dangerously, "We have some canned food. There's only enough to last two more days, I think."

Yahiko seemed to pump his fist with excitement, as the young girl got up from her perch to go retrieve the dirty bag and pull it forth.

After their meal, they got ready for the weather as Yahiko handed them ill-fitting rain boots and coats. They had apparently been used by his dad, who had been a fisherman before the war had started and had died transporting weaponry to an island in dire straits. His eyes lit up when he talked about his father. He went as far as to call him a hero but as he worn that conversation thin, the three of them just settled for comfortable silence. They then just trudged their way through rain and mud, Yahiko sometimes muttering under his breath about something being a crybaby. The rain perhaps? That was an odd way to look at their country's weather patterns but it was probably just another oddity about Yahiko, she supposed.

The three spent their day lounging underneath a propped up tarp, fishing pole in the water as they told each other stories about their life. It was usually Konan speaking for the both of them as Konami relaxed and listened to their voices. Yahiko had apparently lived a tough life before he'd found that cave. It seems he had been living off scraps from people's garbage, which was few in size from the way their entire nation was starving. He spoke of how he had expected someone to help him, some sort of home to protect children from the war but he had been bluntly disappointed when he found that the nation was in too much trouble as it was just to help some measly brats off the streets and into warm homes.

He spoke of a change, how he dreamed of a shift in this nation's views and beliefs, affected greatly by his father's old tales of other lands where it didn't rain everyday and the sun shone brightly in the sky with not a cloud in the sky. It was a such a fantastic idea, a fantasy that didn't seem real after living in such a place for the longest time. It had been so long since she'd seen a clear sky, and she knew for a fact that Konan and Yahiko had never seen it for themselves. It was something regrettable but true. If only the rain would stop and say good-bye.

"Our dad always told us that we would need a savior for us to go back to the way it was before the war started," Konan was saying as Konami lazily peaked an eye open.

"A savior, huh...Like a Deva?"

"Those are stuck in Samsara, aren't they? Besides, it isn't as if they're better than humans."

It was a curious thing, what the two had spoken of. Apparently religion existed in this world as well, in the form of Buddhism and Shintoism. Which had to mean that Buddha had been alive in this universe. It was something to mull over, especially with Buddhism's standing on rebirth, but it wasn't something to be stuck on, pondering over her existence in this world that she couldn't truly shake off. Although it hadn't been as if Konami had done anything of note in her past life. Certainly not enough to be reborn as a human being. The most she should have been reborn into would have been an animal but as a human being, it looked like Nirvana was possible for her. Not as if she would try for it, that is. Despite her circumstances, she wasn't a true believer in religion. Then again, maybe the Sage of Sixth Paths was the Buddha to this universe, along with the Bijuu's being the Devas. If Konami remembered correctly, Buddha was known as the teacher to these Devas, which would certainly fit with the relationship the Sage had shared with the bijuus. It was an interesting thought.

"That's right," Yahiko was saying, a cheeky grin on his face, "We have to help ourselves, don't we?"

The two girls nodded, hopeful grins on their faces as they waited for a fish to bite.

However, they weren't so lucky.

With drawn out sighs, they headed back to their cave once the rain picked up wind, resulting in shower that swept up underneath their tarp.

It was evening by the time they headed into the cave, speckled with mud and water drops on their clothes and legs. They quickly took of their boots and coats before gathering on the futon with similar looks of dissatisfaction.

"This just means we'll have a feast tomorrow, for sure, ne?" Konan murmured, attempting to keep the moral up.

Konami nodded before murmuring out, "It's been a long day. We should get our rest so that we can catch a lot of fish tomorrow." Her head still felt fuzzy and hot, almost like her consciousness was barely there at all. She fought through it and managed to tune into Yahiko's next words.

He was agreeing with her and as she sneezed, she looked to see the evident worry in his gaze. It was very strange. He was feeling such emotions for a stranger but she supposed it was an oddity to him. Perhaps for her too, because that entire day she had felt a sense of camaraderie with him, and as if she were in safe hands.

"I'll be relying on you both then. I'll go get some fresh wood and start a fire. It's pretty cold in here," Yahiko was saying as he stood up and headed to a new corner of the room that had totally been blinded to her. A crate was there, one which he opened up to reveal a stack of salted wood. That was a curious sight, but it made sense. Salt was used to sap the moisture out of things for things like preserving food and she supposed it was good enough to work on wood. She wondered how he had gotten a hold of such a quantity of salt but then answered her own question when she remembered that Yahiko wasn't a stranger to stealing for survival.

Either way, Yahiko's prepared ways had come to be immensely handy. It must have been because of his father, she assumed. Konami watched with blurry, hazy eyes as the orange boy worked on getting a fire started. When he was victorious, he pulled down the sheets that had made a separate room and tossed them to her.

"I'm going into the village to see if I can grab a compression pad," he murmured before tossing back on his boots and coat. He left the cave with a flourish and Konami busied herself in getting comfortable beneath the sheets of cloth.

"We're going to be fine," Konan was saying as she joined her little sister under the covers.

Konami nodded, thinking to herself what a fine idea that was, even if it couldn't be true for her. She would be dying soon, if her newest side effects were of any indication. She was breathing heavily as she suddenly felt an intense stab of pain through her gut. Was it hunger or her disease? Her breath hitched, causing her to sit up in bed, coughing once more.

Konan rubbed her back even as the young girl tried her best to keep her away. Konami didn't like making Konan worried but after her coughing escalated to full on hacking, she didn't even care anymore as she leaned into Konan's body. She felt alternately dizzy and aflame with pain.

Yahiko came back sometime later, after Konami had managed to get it down to a simple cough here and there and rushed to her side with a wash cloth ready at hand to clean up the blood from her hands. She gazed at him with heavy-lidded eyes as he brought a cool compress to her suddenly heated up forehead.

"I also managed to steal some canned food," Yahiko mumbled, "Some tomato soup for her."

"Thank you," Konan was saying, "I'm sorry we're such trouble..."

"Don't be," Yahiko murmured as he gazed with anxious eyes at Konami who was just barely holding on to her consciousness.

"I'm sorry," she was whispering as she weakly lifted a hand to poke between his creased brows. He tried for a smile, coming to pat her head.

"There are somethings you can't help. Let us take care of you until your better."

She was about to deny her needing the care but she soon found herself being lulled to sleep by the sounds of sparking fire and Konan's hushed, sweetly soft humming.

Before she knew it, the days carried on like that as she stayed in bed, too weak to even get up out of bed. This was when an idea ticked in her head, during the times Yahiko was out of the cave and Konan decided Konami could be fine on her own (that was mostly due to her ushering her older sister out when she tried to stay). She would play with her chakra and see if she could manage to jump-start her cells growth, or learn how to convert them.

At first, it proved useless as she tried to figure out how to properly wiggle her chakra around and form it, to the increase the difficulty when it came to switching the very _nature_ of it. It was extremely tiring and difficult to try to mold her chakra, making her sister and Yahiko increasingly worried that she would never get better. But she was trying everyday and every moment she found herself alone. Soon, this proved to the key as she came to be able to control her chakra, siphoning it the majority of her measly reserves out to her torso. It was helping her just a tad bit, even if circulating it could get tiring.

About two weeks into their partnership, Konami was finally able to stand up without assistance from her sister. Even if she felt a little woozy and miserable from having moved very little (aside from the periodic bathroom breaks) she still brought herself the determination to be of help. She decided to clean of their cave, which had grown messy over time. She organized their empty cans, the clothes that the three of them were changing into every so often, etc. By the time she was finished, they had arrived back.

Seeing her out of bed, Yahiko and Konan exchanged looks and similar grins before coming forward to gingerly hug her.

"You're getting better!" Konan cheered.

She was looking thin, similar to Yahiko and she recognized the fact that they had been giving most of their food to her. Konami felt instantly guilty as she vowed to herself that she would definitely help out more.

Still, she gave them both gracious smiles, "Thank you for what you have done for me." _Especially for someone that's still a stranger_, she couldn't help but add in her thoughts as she looked at Yahiko. She couldn't even imagine how indebted she was to his kindness.

"We're just glad your okay," Yahiko informed her, bags under his eyes making him look aged past his years. She probably looked stricken, taking in his expression with a bad feeling. Wasting not even a breath, she pressed herself into his chest, wrapping her thin arms tightly around his torso.

"Thank you, big brother," she mumbled, maybe a bit shy and only pulled back when Yahiko froze in her grip. Did she go past proper boundaries this time? She was speechless when she found that he was simply blushing, his face suddenly alight with emotion.

"I'll protect you and Konan with everything I got, I promise," Yahiko vowed, shaping the words slowly before beckoning Konan forth as the three of them shared a tight, almost suffocating yet warm embrace.

* * *

**Paper Flower - ****紙花**

* * *

"Keep them distracted for me," Yahiko was ordering her and Konami diligently nodded in reply as he went on, "I'll grab us dinner."

Fishing as of late had proved fruitless, resulting in them being forced to steal from people and the market. In the end, it had become Konami's job to play the helpless child thanks to Konan's inability to act anything but herself. For now, she played look out this time around, instead of helping Yahiko loot as she usually did, keeping an eye out for peace keepers, whose force had grown in size as of late, and for other people. Because of this, the three of them had come up with a sort of system of signals and gestures.

"Got it," Konami replied with as she made her way in front of the shop owner, the look of lost hope stuck on her face as she got into character. Her umbrella was held gingerly in her hands, keeping her dry and intimidatingly cast in shadows.

The man sighed, "I keep repeating this but you rats just never learn. I suppose the lot of you are all fucking idiots," he spat at her, which she easily dodged as she just continued to stare at him. She had come to realize, after an entire month worth of it, that it was best not to say a word. The very presence she gave off was enough to keep them distracted until Yahiko was done snatching food. She figured her gaze was disconcerting to most when she kept it dead and lost. Her golden amber eyes looked lifeless, she assumed by way that the man shrunk slightly away from her. With a grumbled out huff, he raised his hand. "I'm sick of this bullshit," he was saying and Konami just continued to stare, never shifting an inch, "Go now or else I'll...I'll..."

It seemed the man wasn't all that bad. He still couldn't bring himself to beat an innocent child.

"Maa, maa!" Yahiko's voice interjected as he came to her side defensively, "No need to get violent. Konami...I told you not to bother the kind man." He brushed the side of his ear. He'd gotten the goods collectively, "Now, where did Konan go off to...?" He blinked twice, the signal Konan was looking for as she bounced into view.

"I'm right here! Sorry, Yahiko, I got distracted by looking at the flowers over there," she pointed off to the side, at a bush of hydrangea. Konami smiled, always the one to feel joy over the radiant beauty of the large flowers that seemed to thrive in this rainy climate.

Yahiko sniffed for the show, "Don't be so silly, Konan. We should head back home soon."

"Right!" Konan cheerfully said as she came to bring an arm over Konami's shoulders in a familiar way, "Let's go home now then."

The three made their way back to their cave with no problems and when they entered their tiny place, Yahiko dumped the contents of his barrel-shaped bag out on top of a crate, revealing a good helping of fish, along with a bag of uncooked rice. Over the past month, with the team effort, they had managed to stack up a sort of fortune in the form of crates filled with non-perishable food. They were still careful about how much they ate, awfully aware that any time now, they could be found out and then they'd have to figure out a new way to gain food.

Soon, they had their meal cooking as the three gathered around it with raw anticipation. The three of them were still too thin for comfort but they had been making do with what they had. As the meal finished up, they ate it gingerly with their hands.

It hadn't turned out to be enough to fill their stomachs, as even after every grain of rice was gone, they all shared similar frowns and patted their stomachs as if to tell them to be happy with what they had. As Konan and Yahiko started up a conversation, seemingly trying to get their mind off their circumstances, Konami stood up abruptly as she headed to the door of their cave, putting on boots and a coat as she turned to them with a reassuring smile.

"I'm going outside for some air," she informed them, grabbing their lone umbrella, that they had found abandoned some time ago, before lifting up the vine blanket to toughen out the brunt of the rain. She had been walking for quite a bit of time, thoughts scattering as rain dripped over her head, onto the umbrella. While she was on her walk, she played with her chakra, wondering distantly if she had been doing things the wrong way. She was still having coughing fits, although she had gotten over her fever a week ago and hadn't had it sense. Still, there were times that she couldn't help but be doubled over by pain, agonizing pain. It most assuredly wasn't a fun feeling to practically be decaying from the inside out. She could only imagine how grotesque her insides looked just as they were.

Her thoughts shifted away from that visual as she jumped to how much had changed over the past month. Yahiko was more stubborn and hardy, that was for sure, but he was still the same old boy who softened up over being called 'big brother'. They were hardly strangers anymore and he truly did feel like an older brother to her. It was easy to get comfortable with him, and even when he got a little bossy over the food, she had knew he always did it for the good of the pack. Konan had become happier with him, as she got to teach him origami, even if he proved to be a dense student incapable of understanding what different folds accomplished. Even herself had felt lighter with him. Their parents death had been something they had bonded over in the past but now they hardly ever mentioned the people who gave them life. This was their resolve to survive, becoming independent.

She found herself gazing up at the raining sky with hooded eyes...

"Ah!" Konami let out a yelp as she tripped over something, her hand letting loose of the umbrella as it got tossed aside. With quick movements, she scrambled up and away before she found herself facing a dead body. She restrained a scream, she gave her head a quick jerk. This boy wasn't dead. She gulped as he didn't move, laying on the soggy mud as if he'd just given up on life there. But she knew he wasn't dead.

Scrambling for her bag, she reached in and grabbed the loaf of bread that she'd been told to keep there for in the case of emergencies. It was stale a rough, but it would have to do for him. Almost panicking, she grabbed on to the handle of the umbrella before leaning close to the redheaded boy, holding the bread out in front of his nose. Besides him, his dog whimpered. With a small smile, her umbrella balanced precariously in the crook of her neck as she reached out with her freed hand to caress the dog's fur. That was when she noticed that the dog had been shaking.

Biting her lip, she took off her jacket and laid it over the boy before poking him in the cheek.

"Wake up," she was whispering, "I'm giving you food."

The boy seemed to stir, a soft sigh coming from his lips.

Konami found herself smiling softly at the boy as she indicated the loaf of bread in her hand, "Go on, eat this."

He slowly sat up, glancing at her and then at the bread. She patiently waited for him to take it and when he finally came to be leaned up against the tree, his shaking hands grasped on to the loaf of bread. He slowly brought it to his mouth, but paused when his dog whined and whimpered. Konami watched on as he split the bread and tossed a piece to his companion.

"Eat slowly," he told his pet as the brown eyed dog took it gingerly into his mouth, making a meal out of it with the snapping of its jaws.

"What's your puppy's name?" Konami asked as she knelt down besides the eating boy. His hair was a bright red, almost like blood and she was reminded of the times where she coughed it up. She was no stranger to the color but with his rather pale skin, it stood out even more so. She felt tempted to brush it away from his eyes but knew that doing so would only alarm her. She could vaguely remember the eyes that he had, the rings in a lilac tinted base. The Rinnegan, she believed was the name of it. Sorely, she wished to have her books from her old home to tell her what she had known of the dojutsu.

"Chibi," he murmured, wrangling a tiny giggle from the girl right next to him.

"What a cute name," she commented before they fell to comfortable silence. When he was done with the bread, she reached into her bag to pull out a bottle of water, handing it to him with a tiny smile.

"This...why are you helping me?"

She felt her heart give a pang as her smile turned sad, "We're both war orphans, no? We have to help each other when we can...because no one else is going to do it." She recalled distantly that Yahiko had said something similar to her sister and her when they had formed their little trio.

The boy went silent and she stood up, holding out a hand, "Come on, I'll take you to a warm place. Your dog can come with."

The boy smiled, his eyes covered by his hair, but Konami had a feeling that there were tears there. Silly kid. You had to save those things for the important times.

Determined then, she carefully led Chibi and the boy to their hideout, lifting up the vine curtain as they both entered the cave.

"I'm home!" Konami called out, watching as Konan and Yahiko poked their heads out from behind crates. Konan's eyes instantly lit up as she laid eyes on the puppy. Yahiko looked surprised and distraught as he stood up, only to sit on one of the crates in their cave.

"Who are these two, Konami?" He asked, brown eyes assessing the red-headed boy with a cold glint in his eyes. Konami sighed, all too aware of how much trouble it was to fed the three of them. Adding a dog and boy? It would only increase their troubles.

"He was dying," The tiny girl informed him blithely.

Yahiko scowled, "And the dog too?" She said nothing as he hopped off the crate and made his way toward the boy, Chibi having already found entertainment with Konan, who was playing with the paper dog she had just made. "What's your name?"

"Chibi," the boy replied and Konami found herself resisting a snicker.

Yahiko's face shifted into disbelief, "Well, you sure have a weird name. Chibi, was it?"

"Ah, not me," the boy swallowed before continuing, "That's the dog's name. Mine is Nagato."

"Hmm," Yahiko still looked unimpressed, "Well then, my name's Yahiko. These two girls are Konan and Konami."

Nagato turned to her, "Ko...Konami?"

She nodded, attention moving to gaze at her older sister having fun playing with Chibi as she giggled and laughed with a care free expression. Konami found herself relaxing, having only just realized that her body had been stiff.

There was a moment of silence as Nagato ventured further into their gaze, seemingly amazed by their stash of food which they had been careful about collecting and preserving.

"There's so much!" Nagato had exclaimed, causing Konami to laugh but sober up moments later in understanding. She then watched as Yahiko resumed his perch atop a crate.

His face looked bluntly passive, almost dismissing the skinny boy at face value, "If you're planning to stay with us, then I expect you to help with your share of collecting provisions." His statement was blunt and Nagato turned curiously to the orange haired boy.

"Okay," he seemed to pause as he mulled over the words, "But how?"

"You steal."

"Steal...? But isn't that wrong?"

Yahiko leaned forward, a scowl on his face, "Don't be ridiculous. These are hard times. We've gotta fend for ourselves with any means necessary, right girls?"

Konami nodded, coming to lean against a pile of wooden crates. She could still remember lugging them across the mud and bramble and then setting them up in the cave. They had celebrated their accomplishment with eating an entire three meals that day.

"Naive ideal won't cut it here," Yahiko went on to say, a severe expression on his face.

"You're right," Nagato agreed softly, his shoulders lowered, making Konami bite her lip as she walked over to put an arm around his shoulder.

"It's easy. We'll teach you."

* * *

**Paper Flower - ****紙花**

* * *

Over the next few weeks, the four orphans managed to build up their stock to greater heights, causing them to lug even bigger crates to their hideout. Overtime, they'd been found out (perhaps they'd been spotted in the open terrain?) but there was little that the villagers could do without knowing where they were keeping their loot.

Admittedly, Nagato and Chibi brought a sense of excitement to the trio's life as they had fallen into a pattern. Nagato was able to laugh at their jokes, able to feel a sense of family that he had lost. He had told them all what happened the night his family had been killed by invading shinobi. He had told his new family how scared he had been, and how the shinobi had slaughtered his parents right before his eyes. That was something neither of them had experienced. Sure, Konan and Konami had _seen_ their parents dead body but they hadn't watched it happen. The trio had discern that he didn't know what had killed them but Konami still had that sneaking suspicion that if she just lifted his bangs... Konami had to shake herself of the thought.

She would give him time to open up, even if it was most likely that he truly didn't _know_ that he had the Rinnegan. Her memories were too vague to tell which, or when Nagato would realize the truth. That it had been him to kill the men. Over time, Konami had began to feel _emotions_ for the boy who was her same size. He was malnourished and thus his growth had been stunted, which gave her a feeling that only gnawed on her gut. It wasn't the usual pain that came with her defect. No, this was a maternal instinct to care and to provide.

Konami almost felt as if, because _she_ had been the one to find him, she had to protect him, to eat only after he had, to make sure that when he was feeling down, she was there to cheer him up. With this, she almost developed a new personality, or as if only discovering a new part to herself where she was cheerful, and optimistic. On the inside, she still doubted the world but for him...for him she would believe that the world could be changed. It was different from what she felt for Konan, knowing that Yahiko could be by her side, and resting assured that Konan was relatively at peace with their parents demise and their situation. Nagato was different in the fact that what he was feeling left him raw on the inside and she was desperate to get him out of what ever deep well he had found himself in.

Her worry for the boy had gotten so bad that she'd even taken to copying Chibi in the way that she curled up next to him on the futon that had stayed with them through the months. At first, he had felt stiffly alarmed at her presence (which sort of stung that he wasn't as comfortable as she was) but over time Nagato had come to welcome the company. It might had been a weird relationship to be in, but... Konami needed to keep him safe, that was all she knew. Perhaps it had something to do with her memories? She could distantly recall that the Ame orphans had been apart of a group that had started as a revolutionary band of misfits but sourly turned to something far more sinister.

Something to do with Yahiko...

Konami heaved out a sigh as she got up from her warm spot next to Nagato to go use the restroom, getting on her rain coat and boots. He didn't stir in his sleep, something she was grateful for as she left their cave dwelling and headed to an obscure place that Konan and her had taken to using as a way to relieve themselves. Due to the rain and, there wasn't a residual scent but she was always careful where she stepped in with her new boots. Some time ago Yahiko had led a raid as they swiped articles of clothing from the market, manging to get boots her size, and a nicely colored light purple jacket. Konan's was deep maroonish pink while Yahiko's was an odd yellowish color. Nagato still wore the green jacket he'd come into their lives with.

After she was done, she maneuvered her way through the mud and lifted the vine curtain before talking off her boots and coat. With a deep sigh as she half-heartedly checked her chakra, Konami moved her way back into bed, only slightly taken off guard as she suddenly back to cough. She muffled it with her hands as she removed herself from the futon and found herself moments later huddled in a corner, hidden by gigantic crates. She was still coughing, eyes wide as she tried to keep quiet.

It was still dark out and her four other cave-mates were sound asleep.

This had been...unexpected.

For the past month Konami hadn't been bothered by coughing fits. In fact, she had been relatively healthy for the most part, managing to eat three times a day, albeit smaller portions than they should be. She felt her stomach sinking. It wasn't... Her chakra solution wasn't working anymore. She was afraid to just say, _apply more chakra_ because really, what she had done the first time was risky enough. It wasn't so simple to just convert more chakra into cells because how could she know if she doing anything dumb? Really, she couldn't know.

She wasn't going to last much longer at this rate which actually... It actually terrified her.

She wasn't afraid of death, no. She was just... Konami didn't want to give up this life yet. She wanted to be there for Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko. She _had_ to be there to ensure their happiness. She wanted to live for them, she _needed_ to live for them. Because, what else was she to do in this life? She was stuck in the dumps, stealing from others just to get by in life. She was sick, terribly sick and she had a feeling that her disease was attacking much more than her internal organs.

She was trying to quiet her panting breaths as she struggled to regain her usual face but before she knew it, Chibi stood in front of her, licking her cheek. It was oddly comforting to have that support, something she hadn't had in a while. Konami wanted to pet the dog but one glance at her blood speckled hands told her she would just have to make do with rewarding him later.

After about a minute of this, she stood up, padding around the cave to look for something she could wash her hands with. Nothing in sight. With bated breath, she slipped past the others and left the cave once more, holding her palms up to the rain. In moments, the blood had been washed away.

Resisting a sigh, she finally managed to slip into bed with no more problems.

Except for the added fact that her brain was too active to yield into sleep.

Konami sighed before twisting her form so that she could gaze at Nagato. His eyes were closed, his red bangs spilling off to side as it revealed a pretty face. She resisted touching his pale skin and settled for rubbing her fingers into Chibi's fur, who had come to rest between the two children.

One thing was certain, through out all this mess. Konami would protect her precious family with every fiber of her being.

* * *

**Paper Flower - ****紙花**

* * *

"Get out, you rotten brats!" The woman who stood at the fruit stand yelled, shaking her fist with fury as the four orphans and their dog promptly skedaddled away, their brown bag filled with watermelon, apples, and oranges. They were going to make a fruit salad! Or at the very least, Konami was going to make it for them when they got home that night.

However, just as they rounded the corner to make their great escape, an angry pillar of a man stood in their way. He had his hands on his hips and by way of his muscles, he could easily take the kids off their feet with ease. They took a visible step back, Yahiko standing at the front with his jaw set in determination. Konami looked anxiously on as the man snatched the bag of their stolen goods away. Then, with an intense flash of his eyes, he lifted Yahiko by the collar, grabbing for Nagato next. Resisting a growl, Konami swiftly stepped in, and felt her feet be lifted on the ground. If she wiggled, she wouldn't feel a thing beneath her. It made her squeamish to think about it.

"Let them go, you bastard!" Konan yelled from her place in front of Nagato, who standing shockingly still.

"Learn this lesson, you rats!" The man heaved a grunt as he tossed Konami and Yahiko at the bags of trash next to the wall of the establishment they stood next to. Konami felt the air she had be knocked out of her and she dazedly watched the man walk away as she struggled to regain her breath. With the help of Konan, she was soon standing on her feet but began to cough, with it quickly escalating to a hacking sort of deal. She attempted to cover her face but was too dizzy to do it, coming to rest heavily against her older sister for support.

"Will she be okay?" Nagato was asking, his voice shaking and Konami noticed that Yahiko was making his way towards her, a desperately concerned expression coloring his features.

"It's been awhile," Konan was saying, her voice sounding fuzzy to the small girl's ears. That is, before she completely blanked.

Konami only regained consciousness a little after that, being carried by the teamwork of Yahiko and Nagato. Wordlessly, she lifted a hand up to touch Yahiko's cheek, garnering his attention. She pointed at the ground, causing him to halt in his tracks.

"You haven't been telling us about your condition, have you?" The orange haired boy asked, looking to feel an odd mixture of guilt, betrayal, and frustration. Konami looked away, ashamed. She just hadn't wanted them to worry about her.

_You're a meaningless existence_.

Yes, of course. After all, she had only been reborn to make sure of their future happiness, that was her only mission for this life. Not even a petty disease could change that.

"Are we... Do you not trust us?" Yahiko sounded pained, causing her eyes to snap to his.

"I trust you more than I trust myself," she whispered, her throat sore.

"Then...why? Why do you hide yourself? We have to make it together, you know... Without you, everything doesn't have the same meaning."

She felt uncomfortable, her thoughts and his words conflicting.

Konami pointed to the ground once more, making Yahiko sigh as he relented, nodding his head toward Nagato, who followed suit. She stood on her feet then, rim rod straight as she murmured to them softly, "I don't want you to worry."

"Bu-!"

She held a hand up, cutting Konan's next words off as she went on, "I don't think I will be alive much longer. So...I would rather you have happy memories of me, than sad ones," Yes, this, these words were her one selfish wish. She gave them a pained smile, "I just want our time together to leave no scars." _I can't be the ones to break you, do you understand?_ It would be unbearable if she were to be the reasoning to their suffering. It would be absolutely _agonizing_ if they were to never be happy. They deserved that much. They had endured too much for far too long. Yet why was she sick in the first place? There was no rhyme or reason for it except that all she had done when she was put in this body was cause suffering.

"Is that what you really wanted?" Yahiko was asking and Konami nodded.

"I can't..." she began before looking away, "I can't do that to you guys. I can't do that." Biting her lip, she met their gazes, praying for their understanding or at least an acknowledgment of what she had to say.

"Okay," Yahiko seemed to sigh, eyes aged beyond his years, "Okay."

What that meant exactly, she didn't ask.

Konami just smiled at him, as brightly as she could, with as much gratitude as she had in her. Then, leaving the conversation at that, they all fell into step.

It was a few moments later before Yahiko spoke up again as they trudged their way through the open terrain that led to their hideout.

"That aside...how is everyone feeling? I know it may be hard," Yahiko sounded as if he were forcing a bright tone, none of the others commenting on it. He went on, "But we got to keep in mind that sometimes things like that happen."

"I guess," Nagato mumbled, his face turned toward Konami, who looked pointedly away. They hadn't ever told him about her condition, which only made the guilt seep in.

"Hey, Nagato," Yahiko called over to the boy, obviously trying to change the subject in hopes that he could keep the air light, "Do you have any dreams?"

"Dreams?" The red-headed boy asked, seemingly caught off guard by the question. Something about this conversation was beginning to be painfully similar to something but Konami just couldn't quite put her finger on _what_.

"Well yeah," The orange haired boy laughed, remarkably setting everyone ease, all but Konami. She was still confused, "We sure aren't going to live in a dump like this forever. I've got big dreams to make come true."

"What are they?" Nagato asked, while Konami frowned.

"World domination!" Yahiko announced, garnering a giggle from Konan and a slightly confused, put-off smile from Konami.

"World domination, seriously?" Nagato's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Hell yeah!" Their leader held a fist up as he theatrically came to look at them all with a mischievous grin, "Once _I_ rule the world? We'll never have to go through this suffering again," he declared.

"That would be nice," Nagato allowed, going along with the abnormal dream.

"But if I die like this, without even completely that, then my parents will be rolling in their grave. They'd never be able to rest in peace then, isn't that right, Konan, Konami," Yahiko looked to the two girls when he said this, gaining understanding nods from them. In one of their many conversations, it had brought them to discussions about the afterlife, and if their parents were proud with them. They, in the end, came to the conclusion that everything would be fine if they just made their dreams come true, "If we rule the world," the orange haired boy went on, "then we could do what we want to do, and we would never be hungry."

"Yeah, you're right!" Nagato was grinning by now, at the thought of never going hungry again, "It'd be like we were Devas. Hey," the redhead jumped up excitedly, "do you think we could get rid of war too?"

_BOOM!_

The orphans were all knocked off their feet, being sent flying through the air. Konami twisted just in time to see a spot just before them be blown up to smithereens. _Oh_, she thought dazedly. Now she remembered why this conversation had sounded achingly familiar. She could now vaguely recall the same thing happening to her family in the show.

There was a moment of ringing ears and an ache in her insides but other than that, she felt okay. She struggled to breath, ending up inhaling the dust that had been formed from the explosion. She coughed, hearing beyond the ringing as Yahiko asked, "Everyone okay?"

They were still struggling to their feet when somewhere below their cliff, there was another explosion. The air gusted over them, making Yahiko groan. The ringing was slowly starting to fade away but it was becoming harder to get herself back to her feet. She shook with exhaustion and pain, eyes wide as she looked for Nagato.

"Damn it!" Yahiko grounded out, "Not now!"

More explosions were occurring in quick succession and Konami struggled to see where they were coming from. She was panting by now but followed Yahiko to the side of the cliff at a crawl. Just as their faces peeked over the edge, they watched with something akin to awe as _the_ Hanzo stood on top of his salamander, in all his unabashed glory. Before him stood three other people, shinobi to be precise. This time, Konami had actually remembered their names. Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya, the Legendary Sannin. It was disconcerting, watching real _actual_ shinobi in action. Her father hadn't really shown her what it was like to be in an actual fight, which is why she hadn't been expecting to feel such killer intent oozing out of all four of them.

It barred her senses as she took in their extraordinary chakra signatures but noticing how low their reserves were getting. Still, they stood will confidence in their panting forms, expressions filled with determination.

"Konohagakure-nin," Konami found herself whispering, "Yahiko, we need to get away from here. It's too dangerous."

Yahiko looked at her, nodding before the two of them struggled to their feet.

"Chibi!" Nagato's voice came out panicked as he looked up to Yahiko for help, "What do we do? He's not breathing!"

With a firm, set look in his eyes, he bit out quickly, "Worry about him later! We have to get out of here. It's too dangerous!"

Mutely, Konan and Nagato stood up, Chibi in his hands as they all hurried away.

When they finally made it to the entrance of their cave, Nagato gave way to his knees, clutching the dog to his chest. He kept murmuring Chibi's name in horror and regret, causing Konami to instantly be there by his side. She leaned into the boy to give him her warmth, rubbing his back as he began to sob.

Behind them, Yahiko pounded his fist against a tree, cursing under his breath before he shouted out, his voice cracking over the raw emotion in his chest, "Why is it always _like_ this!?" There was silence to his question, the three other orphans quiet, asking themselves that very question, "If all of this useless fighting doesn't stop," Yahiko choked out as he gave one last hit to the tree, "then I'll become the god of this war, and _make it stop_."

There was something in the way he said it that sent chills down her back. Yes, he would, because Konami would help him achieve that dream.

* * *

**Paper Flower - ****紙花**

* * *

"We need to get out of this cave," Yahiko's voice came as the three other orphans distracted themselves with burying Chibi. It was getting painful to look at the very dog that had been so loyal to them, having helped them on numerous occasions during their stealing sprees. It had been Konan's idea to bury him in their cave, which Nagato had complied to doing. They were currently wrapping him in a blanket, getting him prepared.

The redhead sniffed, bringing his sleeve up to wipe his tears away.

"Nagato, quit crying all the time,"Yahiko ordered, sounding tired. Konami looked up, alarmed at the tone of voice. He hadn't ever spoken to them like that before, "If you only cry when you're beaten down, then nothing will change... Just like this nation," his words sounded bitter, and before Konami could speak up to defend Nagato, Yahiko went on, "But, I'm going to change this place...and for that I'll need _power_ nor just words."

Silence, as the azure haired girls sat silent. It was Nagato who spoke up next.

"How are you going to do that?"

"We're going to learn ninjutsu," Yahiko sounded sure as he stepped off the crate he had been perched on previously.

"Ninjutsu...from who?" Nagato asked, alarmed.

The orange haired boy came to stand in front of them before leaning in, "The Konohagakure-nin. I checked out the battle field, and I didn't see a single one of their corpses. They went up against _Hanzo_ and they survived it. These guys must be incredibly powerful..."

"Maybe," Nagato allowed hesitantly. Konami was nodding, aware of where this was going. Emotionally, she had been well-prepared for this day, the day where they would set off to find the Sannin. But Nagato's parents had been killed by people of that nation. She rested her hand on his palm, making him jump at the contact but when he looked up to her smile, he relaxed, his lips trying to curve up.

"I _hate _Hanzo," Yahiko stressed before he stood up, beginning to pace in their home, "He's taken this country and ruined it, making this place a war zone. He's the reason everything had happened to us," The orange haired boy sighed, pausing in his steps, "Anyway, I will become their student. I've gotta find them!"

"B-but what if we go after them and we find out that they've been killed?" Konan asked, her voice soft.

"Then I'll just find the person that did them in and get them to teach me instead!" Yahiko announced with a sturdy grin, "My mind is made up. I'm going to get that power to protect you guys too."

They all exchanged looks before Konami nodded, "I'd follow you anywhere, big brother."

"I agree," Konan said, smiling now, "Let's get powerful. After all," she murmured softly a blush coming to face, "my dream is to help you."

"It's the same for me," Nagato came to say.

"A god needs his servants, right?" Konami asked, as they all stood in solidarity to change the world they lived in.

Yahiko laughed, "That's right!"

Soon after they had Chibi properly buried, having given the dog words of parting in a makeshift funeral, they began to pack.

"Only the non-perishables come with. We'll be having to ration it out," Yahiko ordered as he supervised their work.

"Are we just tossing the rest?" Konan asked, concerned.

"No, we'll be giving it back," Yahiko mentioned blithely as he hefted four re-breathers, gas masks of sorts, in his arms, "You guys never thought they'd live to be useful, but to where we're going, the air will be toxic, so we'll have to wear these," he handed one to Konan, Nagato coming next, and lastly to Konami.

They all nodded and soon the four of them had all of the perishables separated from the non in their packs. Yahiko had made some sort of contraption out of wood that would make it easier to carry of the stuff back to the village. Hours later, however, the four found themselves standing in front of Chibi's grave as Nagato touched the marker once more, whispering a final farewell.

It was with that, that the Ame orphans headed back to the village, finally arriving at the door of one of the market owners. He opened the door, a purely amazed yet shocked face coloring his features. Behind the kids were the packs of all the perishable food they had been hoarding. This man was sort of special to them. Out of everyone at the market, he had been the one to give them a candy once ore twice. They didn't even know his name but anyone with as much kindness to do that should be trusted with the task they would bestow upon him.

"What is this? What are you kids doing here?"

"All this stuff is for you to share with the grocer and the fruit stand lady," Yahiko informed him before sheepishly scratching at the back of his neck, "In a way, we kind of owe you guys," he gave a chuckle before waving his hand dismissively, "Anyway, take care."

Nagato and Yahiko walked away while Konami and Konan stayed behind. The former bowed, before smiling with gratitude at the old man. Konan smiled as well as she said an apology. With that, the girls bobbed their heads once more as they sped up to catch up with the boys.

"We need to hurry up," Yahiko murmured, "It's going to get very dark soon and we won't be able to sleep."

"We should come up with a sleeping schedule, someone to take watch while the others sleep," Konami suggested garnering a nod from the others.

"I guess we can split it into four two-hour shifts. I'll take first, Konan can be second, Nagato, and then Konami," Yahiko decided as they all walked into a forest of trees. Most of Ame was mudslides, open terrain, cliffs and mountains but there was a separate part that was filled with dark, treacherous forests. These place were sure to be the most active war zones. It might have been crazy to just walk in there, but it was what they'd decided to do, and that was good enough for Konami.

"Let's head towards destiny!" Yahiko confidently said into the moist, rainy skies.

* * *

**Paper Flower - 紙花 - End**

* * *

**Next On Monopoly: Strength - ****強さ**

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**A/N**: Just to be clear, I don't follow Buddhism or Shintoism but I did my best to research into those religions. It's evident in the way that Nagato referred to himself as a Deva (gods or deities), after he had come to know true suffering and pain, that Buddhism is a legit religion in this world. However, I won't be writing a lot about Buddhism, or religion in this story aside from how it affects this group of orphans.

Also, oh god describing environments is hard. Hopefully I get better with the up and coming chapter.

Moving on, I have some things to inform of the readers if they chose to _follow_, _favorite_, or _review _(not necessarily in a order of importance):

_1)_ This story is marked as an SI but Konami only bares a few of my personality traits. She's an OC with a SI's conventions, more than anything else.

_2)_ I plan to update this story about once a month with 15k each chapter. This will speed up as I get chapters pre-written and I'm able to update more frequently.

_3)_ I have up to the end of part one, in terms of Naruto's plot line, planned out loosely but I'm pretty set in what I have (meaning I won't be changing things up just to suit a single reviewer's desires).

_4)_ On trigger warnings, this story will be dark at some points so I will be placing them at the top of the chapter. If you have such a trigger, tell me now so I can keep specific things in mind.

_5)_ On romance: The main pair has already been decided but it won't be coming in until she's older. Also, no hints will be given until then. However, other ships haven't been decided on aside from Yahiko and Konan's canon relationship. However, one thing is certain: Nagato won't be her love-interest. **EDIT**: There is kind of a possibility of there being no pairings for Konami. It depends, I have an interesting one that I never considered before.

_6)_ This will be that last A/N until circumstances arrive where I _have_ to speak up.

_7)_ If I slip up and use the words 'me, our' or anything related to first person POV's, it comes from writing Infamy, so let me know if you see the mistakes.

That should be it. Review, follow, and favorite if this is a story you think you'd like.


	2. Strength

**Monopoly - ****独占**

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_**2**_

* * *

**TW For This Chapter:** Corpses, maggots, hunger, heights, death, blood

* * *

"Remember, don't take off your masks," Yahiko spoke up, his voice slightly muffled by the re-breather.

They had been walking for three days by then, their bodies tired and sore. Still, Yahiko had been an excellent motivational speaker, always making sure they were as amped up as he was. Which wasn't entirely possible, knowing Yahiko's exuberance over getting the chance to be active in saving the village that had done little to save them but they never lost hope, even when their resources began to dwindle.

"We'll find them soon enough," Konan said confidently, which bought her a thumbs up from their leader.

"That's right. We just need to follow their trail, it's starting to a pattern with their kills."

Nagato shuddered visibly, cueing Konami to brush her hand against his as she spoke up, "It looks like they don't all attack at once. They take turns in who does the killing, and who stands back. It seems they're very powerful if they've been able to do this for every body, which has either died by snake bites," Orochimaru, "unexplained deaths to our untrained eyes," Jiraiya, "or being beaten to a bloody pulp," Tsunade. Strangely enough, Konami had been so intrigued by the dead bodies they had found on their journey, she almost felt bad that when she took one look at them, she just wanted to cut them open. It was morbid curiosity that made her want to figure out how the bodies of this world worked.

Still, she was slightly ashamed that she didn't have the emotional capabilities to properly honor the dead like the others did. She couldn't even care that they all probably had dreams and families. She just felt apathetic towards them all, which made her feel as if she were alien to them all. She couldn't understand Nagato's fear of death and killing. She couldn't even fathom why Konan felt guilty that they couldn't reveal themselves to help the wounded they passed by. She just couldn't understand and more than anything else, that hurt her. Because she _wanted_ to feel such concern for others besides for her family. In the end, she was just afraid she'd turn out like Orochimaru.

"Which means," she went on after swallowing thickly inside her stuffy, moistened mask, "that if we find anything else, we'll know to backtrack. It's been helpful that there are sometimes survivors to these attacks that can tell us where they were heading." She, after all, had been the one to speak with them. Everyone else, including Yahiko, had been too hesitant to approach a dying man or woman. They weren't that bad, actually, just bitter that in the end, they weren't going to see their families again and they wished her well on her journey to find the Konoha shinobi. Konami was, despite her flaws, still able to provide care for them as they died in, more often than not, her arms. She would stroke their hair, sing lullabies, and when they finally gave their final breath, she would ransack their packs for anything useful to them. They only ever took food before continuing on, and now they found themselves getting even closer to their targets.

"Yes," Yahiko's muffled voice was thoughtful before.

"Oh hey, are you okay?" Nagato's voice called and Konami swiveled to look at him. It hadn't felt as if he were talking to them. She found she was correct in her assumption, finding him turned away, gazing at something far off. He took a step forward.

"Wait!" Yahiko placed a hand to Nagato's shoulder before bending down to pick of a stone. He tossed it at the body of a man laying on his front, initiating a small explosion of air, "It's a trap," he murmured, coming to have picked up a stray kunai. It was the first they had seen that hadn't been covered in the mud or embedded in somebody's chest. Konami could practically feel his excitement pulsing in the air, and through his chakra, as he spun the end of it on his finger.

As the four orphans continued on, rain never ceasing to fall, Konami watched him mess with it through her blurry mask.

"We need to find some place to rest," Yahiko decided and everyone nodded, "Let's see if we can find a cave. I don't want Konami in the rain for another night."

She just shrugged. Sure, her health had taken an obvious plummet but she was determined not to trouble her family. Toughing out the cold rain was nothing if it meant they found Jiraiya and his team in time before they left Ame.

Before long, they did end up finding something, a sort of opening in the side of a particularly rocky terrain, one with winding slopes upside a towering hill. Once they settled in there, being able to take off their masks, they laid closely together in their sopping wet clothes. It was a natural feeling, being wet like this, but it still felt better to be in dry clothes. At least it felt safer that way.

After they'd leached enough body warmth, Yahiko made a fire with the what little dry sticks he had left and they sat together, warming up. A moment of silence passed before they began to talk about what they had known of shinobi and what they thought they would be able to do in the future if they got to achieve the power they desired.

"Our dad had been a shinobi," Konan explained to them, after she had showed Yahiko the proper way to hold his new kunai, "I only ever made it to learning how to use my chakra before...you know."

"I was taught how to throw kunai and I was going to start on shuriken," Konami informed the boys as they nodded.

"What kind of things had your father been able to do?" Nagato asked, curious.

"He was a sensor, so he was mainly used for tracking missions," Konami frowned, "he also did a lot of mercenary work because of how bad the shinobi system had gotten over time."

"Ah, that's true," Konan nodded, eyes distant as she looked back on their shared past, "come to think of it, you're also a sensor. Dad was going on about your natural born talent and how with age you'd only get better, perhaps even surpassing him. He had told me how he planned to teach you things more geared towards that specialization."

Konami blinked, her father had never praised her or told her any of that. There it was again, that pinch in her chest when she recalled her father.

"Hey, what's a sensor?" Yahiko asked, brown eyes lighting up as he looked to Konami with renewed interest. It hadn't been that she had been holding back the particulars of her abilities, it was just that it had never come up in conversation. After all, it wasn't really something to brag about.

"They're people that are able to sense chakra in all living things. It's different depending on the person, I think, but if I'm close enough, I can see an aura, though if I'm further away, I just feel it. I don't know how to describe it, it's just that I know when others are there."

"Can you tell people from animals? Or is it all the same chakra?" Nagato inquired, leaning forward with intrigue.

"Everything has their own individual flow and signature," she searched her head for something to compare it to before speaking again, "It's like a fingerprint, it's all unique and different and there is no copy of anothers. But, I am able to tell between animals and humans, mostly because humans have brighter auras." Konami chewed on her lip, wondering if she had described properly. She just simply didn't know how to explain to others what she did so naturally.

"That's really cool!" Yahiko's eyes widened, "Have you been sensing others this entire time? Is it why you've been telling us what places weren't safe to travel?"

She nodded, then shrugged, "When we saw them that first time, I got a decent read on their signatures, so I should be able to point them out if we get close enough." She figured she would just have to be within a two kilometers distance to first pick them up on her radar but she hadn't ever really tested that out before.

"That's pretty helpful," Yahiko came to pat her shoulder, "I'll be counting on you then." He grinned and then jumped up, facing the rest of them with a leader's grace, spinning the kunai with the expertise of a true shinobi, "Look at how cool I am!" His eyes were the lightest she'd seen them in a long time, everyone in the cave coming to laugh, "We're gonna become strong, I just _know_ it!"

"Right!" The three of us chorused as we looked at our leader, smiling at his antics. Tomorrow, she knew, wasn't going to be fun.

* * *

**Strength - ****強さ**

* * *

A fever had set in just as they set off, determined to find the Legendary Sannin, as she had so often heard them called by the dying shinobi she had come across. When she'd told Yahiko, a small smile on her face, even when they couldn't look at each other under the masks, he had gotten excited, knowing that they were strong enough to gain such a formidable war moniker. Still, as they trudged on, she felt that familiar pull to sleep, a foggy head and her body wracked with chills. It was getting stressful, keeping her sixth sense so active at all times in the active war zone, but she did what she had to do, and did her best not to cough in her mask. If she did, she would be forced to carry her blood inside until they could find a toxin-free area. She felt she almost deserved a medal, or even a badge of honor for doing so well. Her frame was sore and aching from the repressed coughing, and her throat still felt rubbed raw.

"How are you doing, Konami?" Yahiko asked, coming up besides her as he set an arm around her thin, tiny shoulders. She was sick, but she couldn't tell him that. She couldn't bare for him to worry about her, because that in itself would hurt far too much.

"Fine," she forced herself to say as loudly and clearly as she could behind the re-breather.

"I can feel we're almost there, don't give up hope," Yahiko murmured, "we'll see if they have medicine with them."

"Yeah, and then you can get better," Konan piped up, having heard her little sister's conversation.

It was a nice thought, but one she wasn't sure she'd make it that far. She seriously thought that at any moment, she would just fall, dead. She wondered if people passing along would want to cut her open they passed by her dead carcass, but then, there wasn't a good chance of that. Konami was just weird that way.

They continued to walk in silence, the pattering of rain masking their footsteps and movements through the more forested areas. They were all lost in thought, except for Konami. Her nerves were frayed, her eyes temporarily wide inside her mask. She hoped the rain could also hide her panting breaths because it had been taking every extra strength her body had to offer to place one foot in front of the other. She wished, so badly, to just drop, to fade away. She couldn't even walk properly, much less think enough to let her mind wander. Still, with raw determination, she kept her senses alight and ready. They were in _deep_, around them was the old ransacked, decaying housing districts of a fallen village. It was dark

Yet, as they continued to trudge on for another hour, she felt on the very edge of passing out, having been pushed to her max three footsteps back. She didn't bother hiding her panting, or her pained gasps of breaths as she stumbled on her tiny legs. It was only at the moment she decided to give up, worn to the limit, that she felt them. The three Legendary Sannin of Konohagakure.

She fell, landing on her front into a puddle of mud, the brown water around her splashing around her as she did so. Her body felt warm, far too warm for comfort and if she could just _get this gas mask off_, then everything would be fine and she could breath. She couldn't move.

"Konami!" There was a chorus of voices calling her name, but it was too late, she was too far gone even if their targets were _just right there_.

She was being lifted up and placed onto someone's back. She was too exhausted and useless to feel guilty. She need to speak though, she needed to tell them that they were _painfully_ close to the Sannin.

Panting and hoping the stuffy mask wasn't so stuffy, she licked her lips before attempting to get her next words across. The first time around, she failed but when she allowed herself to rest a minute longer, feeling their target's position stay static, as if they were pausing for a break, she managed to get out the phrase, "They're close by. The Sannin are close by."

"Where?" It was Yahiko's voice, she was on Yahiko's back.

"Just behind that cliff, it feels like they've stopped but we'll still have to climb."

"Well then, let's not keep them waiting."

They ended up having to climb over an entire mountain to get past the river, that looked as friendly as everyone else they had met. Konami had nearly thought she wouldn't make it. She had been too heavy to be carried, so after an hour of resting, she forced herself to be strong enough to go on, and for the most part, she had been. Yet on the last part of the climb, it was the hardest thing Konami had ever physically done before in her entire two lives. Just as Nagato had been helped up by Yahiko, Konan struggled to move on, panting as she hung on the slick side of the cliff that hang over the river. They were high up, _very_ high up which had alarmed Konami. She despised heights, even more so than spiders, and the unsure grips and the possibility of falling to her death was _not_ fun.

"You can do it," Yahiko said to Konan as she reached for his offered hand. He pulled her up with an amazing show of strength and waited patiently for Konami.

She felt like crying, the hysteria building fast as she accidentally looked down. _Oh no_. Yahiko could probably see the unadulterated fear on her maskless face. He held out his hand, "Come on, you can do this, Konami. There isn't anything to be afraid of when big brother is here, right?"

She shook her head even as her lip wobbled. Alright, so she had made it this far. She just needed to climb up a few more inches to grab his hand and she would be safe. _You can do this_. With a held in breath, she tested her hold on a new piece of rock and yelped when it gave way, falling to the frightening, roaring river below. She winced before biting her lip and trying again.

Once she finally made it up, shaking with fear and exhaustion alike, she distantly heard Nagato say, "At least there aren't any more explosions."

She had to appreciate that too. On their entire journey, they had come to be used to the bombs that went off almost hourly, whether close by, or far away. She couldn't even count on her fingers how many times they had been knocked back by now and that wasn't something she was comfortable. Yet, this silence of explosions was unnerving.

Suddenly, things were flying in the air, snaking its way through trees and bushes and Konami came to cower behind Yahiko.

"We're in danger!" he yelled, and too the horror of them all, above them a brilliantly hot explosion resounded and blossomed in the air. This time, it was close enough to kill all of them, as they all prepared for the brunt of it. Konami squeezed her eyes shut, coming to hold tightly onto the oldest boy.

But nothing happened.

Instead, she opened her eyes in surprise to see that all the dust was going _around_ them, Nagato at the front, arms open to protect everyone. But that was just a tiny reprieve as Konami found herself shrieking, along with her family, as the hanging cliff broke off and the four of them were sent falling to the river.

As they fell in mid-air, Konami spun around to latch herself onto the person closest to her, which turned to be Nagato, before they hit the water. When they did, the feeling of needles attacking every inch of her body consumed her as they were all swept beneath the current. It felt like whiplash, as she struggled to rise above the water, even as it moved her along. She tried to force the fighting Nagato up above, just so _he_ could be safe but everything she did was to no avail.

She was inhaling water, and she was sinking fast, yet just before she felt she was going to drown, having given up the fight somewhere along the line, something caught onto her clothes. It was Konan, who had managed to grab onto a fallen tree branch, stuck and embedded into the side of the river.

Her older sister was the first one to be out of the river, and then Konami felt herself rising out, barely conscious as she found she couldn't breath. She was choking on the water in her airways, having filled her lungs. She hit land harshly, coming to cough out water for a change over blood although there was plenty of that too.

Then, with an amazing show of strength, she watched with heavy lidded eyes as Konan fished Nagato out, and then Yahiko when his body surfaced.

After that, she passed out.

* * *

**Strength - ****強さ**

* * *

Konami couldn't almost believe that she had woken up at all.

But she did, astonishingly enough, and she awoke from being shaken, her eyes snapping open. She was too weak to move.

"We found them, Konami," Yahiko whispered, grinning as he scooped her up, even with as he shook from the exertion, "We found them." She couldn't speak, she found, so she merely nodded. With knowing eyes, Yahiko hefted her over his back, "They're just over there, and they have food. I'm going to talk to them first, you three will stay back, okay? Nagato, can you carry Konami?"

He nodded, "I think I can."

Yahiko nodded, Konami mutely blinking in a daze as she was shifted and placed onto Nagato's back with the help of Konan.

The orange haired boy nodded, "I'm going to go speak with them now."

The three other kids found themselves hiding behind pillars in the cave-like area they'd found themselves in. But Konami had a feeling that this place had been a docking town, there fishing boats stopped at. They were in a room, actually, one so broken down and decayed that it was almost indistinguishable to anything else. Yet there were small details, like the concrete walls that were shattered around them, that gave clue on to what it had been in the past.

She could now distantly hear Yahiko speaking to the Konoha-nin and felt the tenseness of Nagato beneath her. She leaned in closer, and came to whisper in his ear, "Don't worry, Nagato. Only one man is bad, only one." She was too far gone to realize that she really shouldn't have said that but she just wanted to bring comfort to him.

"Which one?"

"The one with the palest skin and the long dark hair, but he'll be leaving soon enough, and then we'll be safe with the white haired man. He will be our teacher."

"How do you know?"

She looked for an excuse as she softly chuckled, too quiet to be heard by anybody but Nagato, "Their chakra signatures say it all. The woman is an medic-nin."

"Can she help you?"

Konami felt surprised. She had never really thought about that, "I don't know."

"I-I'm afraid of them."

"I know," she whispered to him, "but that's because of your trauma. You need to learn, Nagato, that people are all different, even if they hail from the same place."

"Are you sure?"

Konami weakly nodded against him before licking her lips and answering him, "Yes. Think about it like this...Are we the same?"

"No."

"Do we come from the same place?"

"Y-yes...I see," Nagato relaxed slightly, but only that, "I'm still afraid though. I'm sorry."

"I know, it's fine to be scared every once in a while."

"I'm angry too."

"Use this anger to help Yahiko," Konami instantly told him, "save it, because it can turn into your reason to make this nation a better place. Think about it, no war, and no one like us to feel angry that our parents were killed. But don't direct your anger at people. You'd find that you'll only lose yourself in it, and feel regret."

"Okay...I'll try to do that," he paused before saying, "thank you."

"It isn't a problem, Nagato, after all, I do love you." _I need to protect him_.

"Come on out guys!" Yahiko called out, even as the three orphans hesitated.

"Go on," Konami softly urged, and he stepped out, his shoulders terribly tense and his breath hitching as the shinobi's gaze fell on them. Konan took this chance to come out of hiding as well, as the three of them came close enough to snatch Jiraiya's hardtack, and soon after, Tsunade's, whose expression went stiff with a slight scowl.

"Sorry," she whispered to her, although they'd never apologized for taking food before. The blonde woman's amber eyes met Konami's with a disgruntled fashion, but then if quickly softened as the older woman came to nod.

"If that's it, then we'll be leaving," Orochimaru seemed to snap out, gesturing to his two teammates, who had their eyes trained on the children. They eventually came to nod as they quickly left the dismantled building.

The four exchanged looks before nodding, Konan picking up the wrapper left from the hardtack as she made a beautifully folded flower.

"I'll give them this," she said aloud, nodding to herself.

With that, the orphans moved quickly to follow after the Sannin, Yahiko being the one to call after them.

"Wait!"

The three of them stopped, as Tsunade spoke up, "What else do you need? You already took our food."

Konan came forward, a shy smile on her face as she whipped out the flower that she had hidden behind her back, she held it forward, "Thank you all, this is for you."

"A flower?" Tsunade murmured.

"It's origami, made from the wrappers of the hardtack," Jiraiya noted.

"And this is for us?" Tsunade asked, in a mild state of surprise. Konan nodded with a tiny smile.

"Please," Yahiko begged, "will you teach us ninjutsu? You're all shinobi of Konohagakure, aren't you?" The shinobi looked surprised, all except one, who gave them a dead stare.

"These kids," Orochimaru started out, his voice as cold as the blood of his snakes, "shall I kill them?" The orphans tensed, save for Konami and her knowing look directed towards the man. He went on, "We've seen so many war orphans. It's always so pitiful. They'd be better off if we put them out of their misery, right now."

"Enough, Orochimaru!" Jiraiya cut in, before pausing and glancing at the kids, "you go on ahead with Tsunade for now. I'll stay here and look after these four. It's the least I can do after how much they've suffered."

"What?" Tsunade turned to him, surprised.

"Only until they're truly able to take care of themselves."

"Yeah, but..." The blond woman trailed off, torn.

"Wait," Nagato spoke up, interrupting them, and he began to shake under the eyes that snapped in his direction. He swallowed before he went on as he addressed Tsunade head on in a surprising show of confidence, "My friend...she's really sick. Can you heal her?"

Tsunade was silent as her eyes lingered over Konami.

Nagato sucked in a breath before adding, "She said she knew that you were an medic-nin by your chakra signature."

At this, Tsunade lifted a brow in surprise, "I've never heard of that being possible before."

"You're chakra, the way it moves and feels, indicates that even at a moments notice, it can be transformed to perform the necessary jutsus to heal, your reserves aren't that big, meaning your control must be impeccable," Konami interjected, with a vague enough answer that they shouldn't be able to accused on anything. In all honesty, she was bullshitting them. She wasn't able to sense that much about a person, aside their reserves. Based off that, she could guess, but people were surprising and it wasn't as if she spent a lot of time around shinobi.

Tsunade hesitated before assessing the sickly girl, "What's wrong with you?"

At this, Konami smiled, "I merely have a fever."

"She's lying," Yahiko spoke up, eyes trained on her own, "she has an illness that she was born with."

"Maa, maa," she waved a weak hand, "it's never been treated before. I'll be dying soon either way, so you do not need to trouble yourself, kunoichi-san."

"The doctor had said that it's because her cells won't replace themselves when they should," Konan explained, snapping a glare at her little sister.

Tsunade's gaze darkened, "Meaning, she's living with unstable, weak organs and her immune system is nonexistent."

Konami laughed weakly, "Basically. Honestly, I don't need to be bothered with. These three just need to learn ninjutsu."

"No," Tsunade murmured, "I've treated a patient once before with this disease. I had been too late then, but I know how to treat it."

Konami blinked in surprise, "Y-You don't have to."

The blonde woman ignored her protests as she looked to her teammates, "It looks like I'm staying here too. Orochimaru, please go on back alone."

The man licked his lips with a long tongue, "Alright then. I'll be leaving now." He did, just then, in the blink of an eye, leaving the orphans to wonder how he did that.

Jiraiya looked to Tsunade, in surprise, but he was grinning nonetheless, "You just couldn't stay away from me, could you."

She scowled, "Don't fool yourself, I'm just here for the girl."

"Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes and then looked at the kids, "Names and ages."

"Nagato, seven years old," Yahiko said, pointing at the quiet boy, "Konan, seven, Konami, six," he finally pointed to himself, "Yahiko, seven. Nagato will be eight in a few months though, and a few months after that, so will Konan and I."

"They share the same birthday," Konami explained.

"I'm Jiraiya, Toad Sage, and one of the Legendary Sannin!" He moved into a theatric Kabuki pose, grinning, even in the rain. It only cued the exchanging of strange looks between the orphans.

It was only Konami who came to giggle at this, "He's cool!"

"She's delirious," Tsunade immediately said, not even thinking for a second that someone could think her teammate was 'cool', "We need to get out of this rain, and then we'll need to leave this zone."

Jiraiya just laughed nonchalantly, "You've got that right, Konami-chan!"

She just smiled at him fondly.

"Hey, what's your name though?" Yahiko asked the older woman.

"Tsunade," was her simple reply as she ushered everyone into one of the buildings, "Any ideas on where to go?"

"There was an abandoned house out by the country. It's a little far from any villages, but it looked well entact," Jiraiya thought back, hand to chin, "It would be a perfect place to write a story..."

"So _that's_ why you stayed," Tsunade joked, "Just so you can get time off to write your novels. It better not be filled with so much smut, or else I'll-." She cracked her knuckles before Jiraiya cut her off.

"Maa, maa! We're in the presence of little ones here," he gestured to the orphans who just gave him a blank stare. He laughed sheepishly before turning back to the blonde woman, "So are we going there?"

She sighed, "I suppose, but first I need to check on Konami-chan, to treat what I can now so that she's fit to travel," She looked to everyone in the room, "I would like to be alone with her for this."

Nagato stiffened and Konami just patted his shoulder from her perch on his back, "I'll be fine, don't worry. We can trust them," she whispered to him softly.

He nodded before kneeling down for her to hop off. She did so, on shaky legs. She would have fallen forward, had Tsunade not been there to catch her. With a dismissive flick of her hands, the others filed out of the room and back into the rain. Before she knew it, Konami was stripped of her shirt, and Tsunade's hands glowed with a bright light green.

"It looks as if you had been trying to heal yourself from the inside," Tsunade murmured as her hand hovered over Konami's naked abdomen, "It's possible, but I'm amazed how close you came to doing it yourself. You properly managed to convert your chakra to yin, but I doubt you know what that is. You lack the control and precision to accomplish what you had in mind. Do you have some sort of knowledge in iry-ninjutsu?"

"I needed to take care of my family," Konami murmured, "I had overheard that chakra can heal, but I didn't know how any of it worked, so no."

Tsunade paused, before nodding, "That's extremely dangerous, but I suppose you didn't have much to lose."

Konami smiled at her sadly, "Only everything."

Tsunade made a noise at the back of her throat that sounded noncommittal, "Well, from the looks of this, only your will has been keeping you alive for this long... If you hadn't had found us, then I'm certain you would have died in a few hours at best. How well do you know your illness?"

"I know that my cells won't replace themselves quick enough."

"Hmm, that's only the half of it. Your chakra is sitting, pooling, for whatever reason, and not doing anything to help. You see, chakra is what provides a form of homeostasis for our bodies, but with your chakra being inactive like this, that is the true problem. Your immune system hasn't had the chance to build up, given your age. As a result, your organs are unable to function properly, and provide stable equilibrium. At this point, you should have suffered through organ failure, so I'd imagine you must be very, very lucky. You're extremely susceptible to even the common cold, so much so that this climate is unsuitable for you, I'm surprised you've even made it this far."

There was a silence as Tsunade continued to work, eyes dark.

Konami nodded at the explanation, she had assumed as much, and already felt her strength being brought back by the technique Tsunade was using, "Is this the Mystical Palm technique?"

Tsunade nodded, "I wouldn't have expected you to know the name of it. Did that doctor, Konan-chan had spoken of use it on you?"

Konami shook her head as she explained it, "He came in, decided I was a lost case and left. My mother was desperate though, so she looked for something to help me, only to find that she didn't have the control for it." _Also, the girl I had been in a past life kind of read a manga in which you used it to heal other characters from the doors of death_. But Konami couldn't say that, besides. Tsunade wasn't a character anymore. She was an actual person and Konami had accepted those before her, she trusted Tsunade almost instantly. She honestly hadn't expected her to stay behind with them like that.

Perhaps Jiraiya had been right in that she wanted to stick by him but only needed an excuse.

That was just fine with Konami being as she wasn't anyone important to the medic-nin._ Tsunade_, the small girl thought, _has always been someone to stick by her loved ones to protect them, but I doubt she would allow herself the selfishness of doing so._

In that way, Konami and her were similar, save for the fact that the younger one couldn't help her family. She was just too weak to.

"All right, you should be good for us to travel, but if you start to feel sick, don't hesitate to tell me," Tsunade ordered her, with a doctor's cold expertise before flashing a smile, "You aren't completely healed up, that will take numerous sessions, and not only that, we have to figure out how to get your chakra active."

"Alright," Konami agreed, because the day had turned out better than expected.

* * *

**Strength - ****強さ**

* * *

The six of them settled into the abandoned house quickly, finding that the inside had previously been cleared of most of its furniture, save for the utensils in the kitchen and the things found in the living room. Other than that, the four available bedrooms had been cleared, as well as the two indoor bathrooms and the dining room. And thus, the group headed to the closest village to pick up futons and any other necessary items. This only made for a very interesting shopping trip.

"Oh, can we get that!?" Yahiko pointed to a ridiculous kunai shaped clock.

"No," Tsunade deadpanned, just as Jiraiya said, "Hell yeah!" The blonde glared at the Toad Sage, before he finally gave up with a sigh.

"Sorry kid, when a woman speaks, you shut up and listen."

"Damn straight," Tsunade grumbled out before pointing to what looked like the apothecary, "Konami-chan, can you go grab a couple of medkits? Here's some ryo, it should be enough."

It was more than enough actually, far more than enough. They must have been crazy rich. It probably helped that their new moniker had spread far and wide, but before even that, they must have been important to their village, being as they had a fortune to spend, even with heightened costs of produce and such.

Nevertheless, Konami walked back toward her group with the goods, coming into the conversation just as Tsunade had said, "I wonder if there's any place to gamble..."

Konami blinked before speaking up, "I don't think that's a very good idea. You don't look like the lucky type." Oh, had that been too blunt? She opened her mouth to take it back but was interrupted by Jiraiya's raucous laughter.

"She really reads people through, doesn't she?" He looked at her with amazement, "Hey, what do you get from me?"

"Pervert."

There was silence, before it was Tsunade's turn to cackle, "She's not always right, but when she is, it's _spot on_."

Konami cocked her head to the side, looking up at them with confusion, "Do you even like each other?" She had never been around banter like this, most times they were hateful towards each other, even being teammates. It had become somewhat of a conundrum to her. She couldn't ever be mean to the people she loved, it was unfathomable.

Tsunade looked to Jiraiya with consideration before nodding, "I suppose that I do. Otherwise, he would have been dead long ago." Konami wondered if that was a joke, or if she were being serious. By the light tone in her voice and the spark in her eye, she guessed the former.

"Why do you ask, Konami-chan?" Jiraiya asked and she resisted a flinch. She had really thought she would have gotten used to the use of being called with an honorific by that point into her time spent with the two Sannin, but in fact it had gotten only harder. Her mother, when she was in a good mood, had called her that.

She swallowed thickly before replying, "Because of the way you interact. I've never seen people act that way towards each other."

"It is weird," Konan commented to herself, garnering a nod from Nagato.

"I don't think any of us have gotten in a fight before," Yahiko added, almost as if in an afterthought.

Konami certainly couldn't remember that happening. They were all fairly like-minded and more than that, they had a common dream and goal.

"I suppose it's just us being eccentric then," Tsunade murmured to the young girl before patting her wet azure hair, "but we should really hurry back, it'll be getting dark soon."

They'd gotten pretty much all they needed from the market, having even picked up some groceries along the way. Just as everyone began to nod, Tsunade paused.

"Wait, we need to stalk up on some booze!" Tsunade surveyed her area before heading off, a goal in mind.

"Booze," Konami said the word softly, "Ne, Jiraiya-sensei, what is that?" She had never heard the word before, completely blanking of the meaning.

"Something you should stay away from," he answered with, "Kids, take a good look at that woman and think 'bad role model'."

She couldn't tell if he were being serious or not but just shrugged it off as the four kids let out a chorused, "Yes!"

He grinned down at them, "Good, then I want you to also look at me and think 'good role model, obey his every word'."

She gave it a try, gazing up at him as she decided that she wouldn't say aloud what came to mind when she thought such a lie.

"Teach us ninjutsu, then," Yahiko begged, the Sannin still having pushed off the request since the very beginning. She wondered when he would give into the orange boy's pushy demands.

"Maa, maa, let's get situated first before anything else," Jiraiya grinned down at the deflating child.

As if to save the Toad Sage from more pesky requests, Tsunade came back a few moments later, two brown backs filled with bottles. Konami blinked, answer questioned. Booze was _alchohol_. She couldn't help but scowl at the sight of it. Although her past life was distant, she could still recall the problems the hard beverage had brought to that family, how it had torn everyone apart and how it ran the household. Still, Tsunade looked absolutely _excited_, this being the first time the small girl had ever seen such a sight, as the blonde woman grinned, amber eyes bright.

"Come on then, what are we waiting for? Let's head home!" Tsunade ordered. Konami decided that as long as it was kept far away from her, she would be civil with the bottles, if only for the happy Tsunade's sake.

When they finally got back to their new hideout, they quickly got to work on getting the house set up. The boys were to share a room (much to Konami's dissatisfaction), the girls just next door. The two Sannin, however, got their own room which was certainly for the best. Soon, as their spaces had been set up with futons and the like, Jiraiya having carried back the bulk of things while Tsunade did her fair share with her chakra charged strength. The kids had helped bringing the much smaller items, in comparison, like lamps and the groceries.

Some how, by the time they were finished, it was actually starting to feel like a home. What actually solidified the feeling was that by the time dinner had been finished, being cooked by Jiraiya with the help from Konami and Konan, it did feel like one. She inwardly shook her as she aided in bringing the food out to the low table. That had been incorrect. This _was_ a home, her new home with her new family.

As everyone gathered, she sat next to Nagato, faintly recalling an emotional outburst that had involved dinnertime, knocking her shoulder against his. He looked up at her, and from sitting this close, if she looked at him closely, she could see the Rinnegan, the lines almost jolting up some long forgotten memories. Konami gave him a smile, hoping it was reassuring before she looked to the others, slightly troubled, but more miffed than anything. She just realized that she still had those leather bound books at her old home. Inwardly, she winced. So were the dead bodies of her parents.

"Thank you for the food!" Jiraiya said first as everyone else went on to repeat him.

"Man, this is some good fish," Yahiko had been saying as he tore into his helping.

"Made perfectly grilled by a fire jutsu in my vast repertoire," Jiraiya grinned, bragging even as he could back it up easily. When he had cooked them that way, it had amazed the two girls, especially Konami, who hadn't ever seen a jutsu being performed. It had been like magic, even if there was a science behind it to back it up. She wanted to learn how to do that, to make something out of the chakra in her body. Otherwise, she felt, she would be restless.

"Oh yeah, you should teach us ninjutsu so we can do that," Yahiko prodded, "to live, and stuff."

"How about this, I teach you how to fish," Jiraiya suggested.

Yahiko nodded, eyes now alight with excitement, "My dad was a fisherman before...everything happened, but he never got the chance to teach me anything. We used to try," Yahiko nodded to Konami and Konan, "but it became too much of a hassle in the end."

"Do you know where those fishing rods were? Or would we have to buy new ones?" Jiraiya asked, thoughtful.

"We left them in our cave, the place we used to live before we went after you guys," Yahiko looked down sheepishly, "it's about eighty kilometers from here."

"So you did come after us specifically?" Tsunade asked, surprised, "How did you even find us?"

"It was actually easy," Konami spoke up, "there were people left dying that knew where you had gone, and from the dead bodies and the pattern you drew, it was easy to know if we were still traveling the right path."

"How did you all come out of it alive? There were people in that place that wouldn't have had thought twice about killing you just because your kids," Tsunade looked confused.

"It helped that we had a natural born sensor on our hands," Yahiko grinned at the azure-haired girl.

She give him a small smile, "I was sure to lead us away from those people."

"Hmm, I suppose we can go retrieve those rods," Jiraiya spoke up, "It'll be a field trip. Who wants to come with?"

Konami shot her hand up, "I do. I can lead you to the cave, but can we make a slight detour?"

"What do you have in mind?" The Toad Sage asked, amused.

"Konan and I's parents...we never buried them and I need to get a few things from that house."

The oldest sister looked away before whispering softly, "Then, I'll be coming too."

"Me too," Yahiko had a slight frown on his face as he looked back and forth from Konan and Konami.

"Let's just make it a family trip, then," Jiraiya decided, "we'll head out first thing in the morning."

"Right," the children chorused as the meal went on in relative peace.

* * *

**Strength - ****強さ**

* * *

The smell, over everything else as they entered the tiny cottage, was what hit you first.

It was the kind of scent that permeated throughout the house, through the walls and the doors. It was _horrible_. It smelled like a mixture of rotting fish, of mold, and of something she couldn't quite pinpoint. It mattered not, however, as she knew without a doubt in her mind, _what _was making such an awful aroma. Her parents.

Last she had seen them, they had been in the living, most likely having ran out of the kitchen to lead the fight outside. They had died with only their girls in mind as they tried to direct the violence away from them. With pinched eyes and a hand cupping her nose, she walked very slowly towards where the smell sprouted from.

She gasped when she saw them, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of their decayed bodies. They no longer looked like her parents, and instead, their skin clung like a tight cloth over their protruding bones, the blood that had been around them soaked into the wooden floors, a stain that would never fade. She came closer to them, never minding the fact that Konan was behind her, weeping quietly. She could now see the moving maggots, and the flies flitting over the two corpses. It had almost been an entire year since they'd last seen her parents, and she almost wished she hadn't ever seen them like this.

The feelings struck Konami quickly and freverantly and with this, she finally came to realize something: She was hopelessly weak.

After all, being able to stand up after having lost your world, being able to take the brunt of the pain and still be standing, that was, to Konami, true strength.

She didn't have that in her.

Instead of facing her troubles head on, she hid from them, she pushed them away. But most of all, she didn't let herself feel it, she was numb to it.

Oh, but now she was feeling it. The resounding ache that pulsed through her chest, as if she were about to break her as her heart beat quickened. She felt that if she didn't stop it, then surely she would die from it jumping from her chest. She was trying hard to breath when the emotions rolled over her like a freezing avalanche, causing her shaking, her body wracked with it. She needed to get away.

Desperately, she twisted around, running to her old bedroom, through the familiar, dusty halls. When she slammed the door open, she quickly jammed it shut, switching the lock before searching desperately through her old room for what she needed. She needed to hurry and leave. In her panicked haste, she thrashed her old belongings in her search as she frantically scoured every inch of her room. She was sobbing by now, eyes blurred even as she took pause to wipe them away.

"Konami?" She could hear Yahiko say from behind the locked door.

She said nothing, too distracted in her search for the books. Now, where had she put them again? She couldn't remember, the last time she was in here had been foggy.

But her room had been completely ransacked already. Where could they be? She felt her blood run cold, her stomach sinking as she refused to think that they had just _vanished_. She clutched her head, coming to kneel on the floor as she focused on calming down. Her breath was coming too quick, so quick that she even thought that there was a chance that she would never break through the emotions that _just kept coming_.

She stood up, tossing everything aside once more as she looked for those three leather bound books.

There.

They were there.

With a cry of relief, she went forth, scooping them up and clutching them to her chest, her breathing slowing. These would never leave her side again, she decided, they would stick with her for the rest of her life. Just for sake of certainty, however, she opened them the top one up, a frown falling to her face as she realized that it was astonishingly hard to read. The handwriting wasn't terribly bad, that wasn't the case. It was just that she couldn't understand what half the words meant. She checked the other books with the same result and with a drawn out sigh, she realized that she would have to spend some time scrutinizing the text and forcing her brain to recall the lost language.

However...

Her door caved in, jolting her to awareness as she looked up with wide eyes. Jiraiya stood there, his expression worried when he came to kneel besides her.

"What are these?"

With a flutter of lashes, she replied honestly, "Something very important to me."

Konan padded in, eyes falling to Konami's treasure as she gave a rueful smile, "She always used to write in them but I couldn't ever understand what they said."

"What does it say?" Jiraiya, ever the curious soul, asked.

Konami nibbled on her lip before nodding to herself, "It's a code I had created. They're just dreams I would have." What was a little white lie? She couldn't be faulted for it, shouldn't be, at least.

"A code?" The Toad Sage picked up one of them as he came to study the texts, scratching his head when he couldn't make sense of it, "This is really something."

Konami shrugged just as her gaze darkened, "Their bodies?"

"Properly buried outside," Jiraiya informed her, "You can say goodbye now."

She didn't ask how they'd done it, only standing as she shut the books and brought them tightly to her chest. She walked out of her torn up bedroom calmly, paying no attention to the distinctive red stains when she passed by them, looking unperturbed as she finally left the cottage she had grown up in.

Nagato and Yahiko were standing in mutual silence before a propped up rock, a grave marking. She went forward slowly before coming to kneel before it. She put out her hand, touching the cold, wet stone. Konami closed her eyes, her head coming to hang as her long, loose hair fell around her in soaked, dripping locks. When her head came up, her body straightening, she stood. She had said nothing aloud, and yet in that moment between her and the stone she had said said everything she needed to.

After all, funerals were for the living, more so than the dead.

She felt strangely light.

Before they left that area, they picked up the fishing rods from their cave, resulting in another greet with another fallen loved one. Chibi's grave had been weathered by the rain, so much so that the marker they had made out of a pile of rocks had been knocked over, covered in mud.

And so they rebuilt it and said their farewells one last time.

* * *

**Strength - ****強さ**

* * *

"All done," Tsunade murmured, "I believe if we can keep up these sessions you should be fine."

It had been an entire two weeks into their stay at the country house, and she had spent that time convalescing more than anything else. Tsunade had gone as far as to say that she wasn't allowed out into the rain if she didn't have the proper protection from the cold. Being as her chakra couldn't keep her warm in the cold, it was no wonder that Konami was more susceptible to shivering and getting a fever. Looking back on everything now, she was sort of amazed how long she had lasted.

Even now, she hardly went into the rain at all.

She had spent her free time, when she wasn't doing the housework, cooking, or in a treatment with Tsunade, she scoured over the texts she had written what felt like many years ago. She had managed to remember most of the language, only needing to surround herself it in long enough to jog something within her before she could make sense of it.

It turns out, she had forgotten _a lot_ of things relating to the plot of that manga but with the books, she had as much as up to the end of the story all plotted out in a quick summary. It never went into detail of the exact _how_ things happened, just bullet points of events that took place. Apparently, Yahiko had died at the age of fifteen by being tricked by Hanzo and some guy with a similar name, Danzo. Kind of like twin brothers in that way. It didn't help that both of them had done bad things, despite them being what appeared to be, from the way a smaller Konami had described them, misunderstood people. She couldn't really pity them, however. They had chosen their paths and they should have to suffer the consequences.

If what she had written had been correct, on a side note, after Yahiko's death, a masked man, who had been bugging the group before, would come to recruit them. This masked man didn't have a name to her, but he was connected to the lightning man, the one who would train Naruto, some pink haired girl, and a survivor of the Uchiha clan. It wasn't that she hadn't recorded the other kid's names, it was just that her handwriting was particularly hard to read when it came to them. She suspected both of them started with 'sa', but she couldn't be too sure.

It mattered little to her in the end, as she wasn't planning to get involved with Konoha anymore than she was now. She just needed to remember how Yahiko had been tricked, and why Nagato, with Konan by his side, would agree to work with such a suspicious man. It was getting increasingly frustrating at night by then. She had grown up with nightmares, they only came to miff her at this point but she had somehow been counting on that to remember the details. Either way she knew one thing, when Yahiko turned fifteen, she would keep him far, _far_ away from Hanzo.

Tsunade poked her cheek, "What are you lost in thought over?"

She realized that she had been making a face as she tried for a smile, "Nothing, really. When do you think the others will be back?"

"Around dinner time. Apparently fishing is kind of becoming their hobby by now," Tsunade made a noise in the back of her throat, "Well, as long as it keeps food on the table, I guess it's fine that we have to deal with that awful smell."

Konami giggled, "Fish does stink, doesn't it?"

"Makes housework a pain in my a-," Tsunade was grumbling as she corrected herself, "it's a pain in my rear end. Man, censorship is a hassle."

Konami laughed again as she stood up, pulling her shirt over her head before attempting to re-braid her messy, wavy hair. She supposed she would have had straight hair, like Konan, if she hadn't had been so fond of braids. She especially liked when her older sister did her hair, as she was prone to making vastly intricate hairstyles. Although, when they were rushed, it often became two simple twintails. She wasn't too please with that particular arrangement, being as it made her feel childish, but she could get past that for Konan.

"Hey, do you want me your brush your hair?" Tsunade asked, watching as the smaller girl struggled with her long hair. Konami glanced up with a smile, excited, but then tried to mute her reaction as she gave a slow nod. Tsunade stood up, coming to grab a comb before settling herself on the floor, patting the space between her legs. The small girl hopped forward, settling herself in the offered space. Tsunade set to work on brushing the long hair, hands moving methodically as they remained quiet. Before long, Konami began to feel faint, eyelids drooping before they snapped open, aware that the kunoichi might not want a child falling asleep on her. However, she wondered why she could so easily doze off today, knowing that it was usually a struggle to fall asleep, and _remain_ asleep. Supposed that the truth of the matter laid in the blonde woman behind her. It was unbelievably comforting, that Tsunade was there, a protective figure and one that had healed her cough.

She knew that she would be incredibly indebted because of that, because now she had a chance to help her family. Was... Could she consider Tsunade apart of that family? She wasn't sure if it was appropriate. Unlike Jiraiya, who was companionable and funny, Tsunade held herself at a distance, unhappy that she couldn't be back in the village with regular missions and her dwindling family. She also hated the rain. Konami supposed that she was only ever interested in Jiraiya, which was strange to her because they only ever argued. Still, there was always that strange little glint in Tsunade's eyes when Jiraiya spoke to her so Konami figured that the older woman was just being shy. Weirdly shy, but shy nonetheless.

"Your hair is very beautiful," Tsunade commented just as she started on getting it braided, gathering her locks in its entirety. She started her work in the middle, leaving most of it loose towards the top, but Konami liked the feeling of her scalp not aching. She blinked when Tsunade finished, leaving the tips of her hair free, with a tail. This was, perhaps, the most simple braid she had ever worn, but she liked it the best, "Sorry, I don't usually-."

"I like it, I think I'll do it this way from now on," Konami interjected before blushing, "Sorry."

Tsunade had wide eyes, as if not expecting that reaction, but her features slowly softened into a bright grin, "No worries, Konami-chan."

She blinked, there it was again. She really didn't like honorifics-they categorized people, kept them away in a detached bubble. Perhaps it was because of that distant past life, where such a thing wasn't common. Or maybe it had to do with her parents, when they called her such a cute name (which she wasn't too fond of either) but then, even then she had a bit of a problem with it. It probably had to do with the former then, and this was how that bled in. She still didn't get why they tacked on 'chan', though. She wasn't cute, she refused to be thought of in such a manner, or even think that of herself. But they persisted, Jiraiya commonly saying that they would be beautiful women when they were older. Konami, above else, would like to be a shadow, one that belonged to her family. After all, that was when she was happiest, so it might have been a bit selfish to want such a thing, but Konami was going to have it.

"Oh yeah, there's a mirror in my bedroom, would you like to see yourself?"

Before she nodded, she hesitated. It had been a very long time since she had looked into a mirror, so long ago that she had forgotten what she even looked like. Well, she _was_ curious on what the hype was all about, so she agreed to doing it.

Once they made their way to the older woman's bedroom, stepping into the mirror together, she felt her nose wrinkle, or rather _watched_ it happen. She had to admit, the face she was looking at was almost nauseatingly _adorable_, what with the way that the girl in the mirror had such light, something like molten gold, eyes, a tiny nose and cherry pink lips. They were only set off by the pale skin of the girl, and the bags beneath the eyes. If she had to assume anything about this child, it would be that she was a terribly sad being. Despite the cute looks, there was a certain weariness to be seen, in the stance she carried, the tense way her shoulders were held, and the almost dead look in the eyes, despite the vibrant coloring. The only thing she was fine with was the hair, with such a simple, plain arrangement. It matched her personality, even when the other parts of her didn't.

"You don't look happy, Konami-chan," Tsunade commented, "Can you tell me why?"

The younger girl bit her lip, watching as her eyes grew pinched, "It might be rude for me to ask, but...can you not refer to me in such a manner? I...I'm not comfortable with honorifics," she felt and saw a blush rise up her face, "I'm sorry."

Tsunade began to laugh, heartily, causing Konami to back away, alarmed at the unexpected reaction.

"We've been waiting for you to ask for something, to be a kid for once, and this is what it is?" Tsunade snorted, before launching into another round of laughter. The azure haired girl's face was set aflame with a flush, embarrassed, "Oh don't make that face, Konami, we've been seriously worried about you. We've were thinking you were traumatized over seeing your parents like that, and well, who could blame you for that? We wanted to be there for you, but you, unlike the other kids, just locked yourself in your room and was only ever reading those books of yours. We know it's been hard for you, but we want you to know that you're safe here, with us."

Konami felt like she wanted to cry but she said nothing as she came to wrap her arms around the older woman, latching on tightly. She couldn't show them such a disgraceful face after all, she couldn't do that. Pressing her face into Tsunade's warmth, she let out a tiny sob, only ten just realizing that she was crying. The older woman merely began to stroke her hair, patiently waiting it out and before long Konami managed to quieted down, cupping her hand over her face as she pulled away. She couldn't show such a gross face after having been called cute this entire time.

"Can I...can I consider you family, then?" She asked softly, unable to peek through her fingers to see the blonde's reaction.

Tsunade merely chucked before bringing the girl back into a hug, "Of course! But, I have to know, you're being unexpectedly sweet today, are you sure something didn't happen?"

Konami shook her head, faintly. Nothing bad anyway. In fact, she felt immeasurably safer now. Then, still covering her eyes when she pulled away, she murmured, "They're back."

"So it seems they are. You're an amazingly sharp sensor, even I didn't notice them before you pointed them out."

Konami smiled faintly, "With my health, I probably wouldn't amount to much as an active sensor." In fact, that was her greatest fear, being unable to help with Yahiko's dream after all he had done for her. She was afraid she wouldn't ever be able to repay him. Still, she needed to wash her face in order to at least greet him properly.

After doing so in the bathroom the girls shared (the boys using a different one), she managed to keep her eyes from looking red, or so she hoped, as she left, quietly heading down the stairs to see her family. She blinked as she saw Yahiko, a grin on his face, lugging in a rather large bag over his shoulder. When he saw her, he dropped it, grinning as he pointed to his sack, "Look! I caught the biggest fish in the world!"

Konan, standing behind him, giggled, a teasing glint in her eyes as she gazed at him fondly, "With the help of Jiraiya, of course."

"Hey, I did most of the work! Marvel, Konami, at my hard work."

She laughed, "You've done a very good job, big brother! You're the coolest!"

Yahiko's eye brightened, "As expected of a sensor, she sees the truth for what it is!"

"I don't think sensors do that," Nagato came in, a happy, if not, carefree smile plastered on his face as he shook of the rain.

"Welcome home," Konami interjected with, coming to grab the sack as she lifted it up with a surprising show of strength. Quickly, despite Yahiko's protests, she brought it into the kitchen, meeting the gaze of Jiraiya as she dropped it on the floor. She gazed at the motionless sack before flexing her fingers. Was it just her, or had she grown stronger? She smiled faintly to herself before making way to the water basin, "I'll wash the rice, Jiraiya," er, "sensei."

He came to pat her on the head, garnering a slight blush before he chuckled, "Tsunade told me, you don't have to call me anything you don't want to."

Her eyes widened, "A-Are you sure?"

He nodded, a smile on his face, "You, out of all them, are the kindest."

Her face became red very quickly at the unexpected praise even if she didn't see the truth in the statement, watching as Yahiko came in with a scowl on his face.

"Keep your lecherous paws off her!" He yelled to the chagrin of Jiraiya, who visibly backed off.

"Maa, maa, Yahiko-kun, let's fry that fish of yours!"

Yahiko debated over this before nodding, "Let me watch!"

Jiraiya laughed heartily before picking up the fish, laying it on a counter, while he quickly did hand seals. They were too fast for her to dissect but the result was always the same, as in a blink of an eye, the fish was grilled, on a plate, and being carried out of the kitchen. She looked at the basin, then at the sack of rice before shrugging as she grabbed the tea cups as she prepared the beverages. She came out with the tray in her hand, swiftly setting down cup after cup before she was able to sit down. Everyone had already been seated, probably waiting for her. The very thought of it pleased her, although she would soon have to figure out how not to be so selfish.

"Thank you for the food!" They all chorused, it having become a well-ingrained habit by then, as they all dug into the fish with greedy chopsticks.

"Grilled fish in an instant, thanks to my fire-style jutsu," Jiraiya began the dinner commentary with, "Delicious!"

"Hey, I think I'm really starting to get the hang of fishing, Sensei," Yahiko said, a grin on his face as he swallowed a piece of the fish he'd caught.

Konami busied herself with eating when she heard a distinctive sound of a sniffle. Her head snapped up as she gazed at the boy to her right, "Nagato?" Her voice was soft as she whispered his name.

He had raised an arm to his face, rubbing at the falling tears, his shoulders hunched forward.

"What's the matter?" Yahiko asked, alarmed. Konami laid her hand on his back as she came to rub it with her knuckles.

"Nothing...I, I just remembered my family," Nagato replied with quietly.

Konami visibly flinched when Yahiko slammed his palm to the table, voice suddenly raising as he shouted, "Stop crying and be a man! It's because of little whimpes like you that the people of Amegakure are considered cowards!"

"Yahiko..." Konami murmured, eyes sad.

"What? Konami, I know what you do! You can't keep treating him like a kid, he needs to grow up! You're part of the problem to!"

She really didn't want to believe that her lip was wobbling, so she bit it, eyes cast downwards. She hadn't been _trying_ to baby Nagato, she just merely knew he shouldn't be left alone. The books had only solidified that for her but she supposed that she wasn't helping him as much as she had thought she had been. She was ashamed.

The air was strained before Jiraiya spoke up once more, "Look, I know things have been unstable with the three great villages surrounding Amegakure. But I don't think this war will last much longer. In fact, I'm confident that by the time you're all grown up, there will be mutual understanding and peace will have-."

"No, that's not fair!" Yahiko interjected with, eyes dark and face stricken.

Jiraiya looked surprised as he met the orange haired boy's eyes.

"All of us have lost our families and the things we treasure to this war! For there to be mutual understanding," Yahiko's voice was shaking but he went on, "they have to go through what we did! That's what _sharing the pain_ is, right?" He demanded to know, only to be met with by silence, before he continued, "But, I know now that something like that is never gonna happen," there was raw pain in his eyes, something so alternatively different than Konami had ever seen before on his face that she almost felt her heart break because she _understood_, she knew all too well what he was saying even as he spoke once more, "That's why wars will _never_ end," Yahiko came to grip his chopsticks, "I hate rain...it's like this land is always crying, like the whole land is a _coward_," his chocolate brown eyes fell to Jiraiya's as his grip tightened, "I'm going to change this world, just watch me, I'll protect _everyone_. That's why I asked, Jiraiya-sensei, _please_ teach us ninjutsu!"

There was that shiver again, coming not from the cold or anything like that, but from the truth that rang in his voice. She clutch her arms to her side as the chills ran down her spine. Oh yes, he would, because Konami wasn't going to let him die. His dream would come true, because she would be _his_ shadow.

Jiraiya never never fully answered if he would teach them, somehow managing to stray the topic away from that, but the air was still tense, a reminder that even if the war would end soon, they still lived in a weak nation, who couldn't even take care of itself like the big baby it was.

* * *

**Strength - ****強さ**

* * *

Today was a rare day, one where she was actually allowed to go outside.

After bundling up, the four had the duty to go fetch groceries and other essentials, it was an easy walk for her, given it was a mere thirty minutes, and the young girl felt like skipping as she played in the rain she hadn't felt in a while. It was terribly boring being cooped up all day and as it was, Konami was glad that Tsunade wanted to be alone with Jiraiya for the day as he tried to work on his latest novel.

The three were walking back, bags in hand as they carelessly chatted away. It had been a long while since she had done something like this with the others, she hadn't even realized it, but she had missed them. She hung closely to them, a small smile playing on her lips as she gazed at her fellow orphans.

"Its been an entire month and he hasn't taught us anything!" Yahiko groaned, "Just what is he waiting for? I've already _begged_, what more does he want from me?"

"Someone should also ask Tsunade-sensei to teach them iryo-ninjutsu, for Konami," Nagato brought up, much to her pleasure. In might have been selfish, but she liked being thought of, it made her feel special even if she loathed her illness as much as she did.

"That's right, we haven't really bugged her much. Do you think she would agree?" Yahiko pondered, "She was also one of the people that stood against Hanzo."

"I don't know," Konan bit her lip, "she seems kind of intimidating."

Konami blinked in surprise, cocking her head, "Really?"

"Oh yeah, Konami should ask her," Yahiko laughed, "Tsunade-sensei likes her the most."

She found herself flushing as she considered this. When she was about to open her mouth, however, her eyes sharpened, "Be careful, someone is here." She surveyed the area before her gaze spotted a shinobi, heading in their direction. With a pinched expression, Konami grabbed hold of Nagato's hand, jostling her bag of groceries to the left. She took off, leaving the usual path home as she felt for Konan and Yahiko's chakra to follow her. They did but she only ever bought them time, sensing the foreign chakra coming after them.

She lead them into a forested area, winding through the bramble and shrubbery, hoping it was enough. With a look of horror, she realized it wasn't as she saw the man jump ahead before landing in front of the Ame orphans.

"Give me your food and I'll spare your lives," he said. To her, this shinobi looked almost mad, insane with a certain _ferocious_ glint in his eye. He shunshined close to Yahiko as he knocked him to the side, the orange haired boy being knocked to the floor.

Konami made a guttural sound at the back of her throat, eyes looking to the shinobi sharply, "Konan, go get Jiraiya and Tsunade!"

"R-Right!" The older girl ran then, making her way through the forest.

The man before her smiled, coming to raise his hand to grab his tanto strapped to his back. She wouldn't let him. With lack of inhibition, spurred on by Yahiko's fallen form, Konami launched herself forward, sending a kick at the shinobi's stomach. He easily blocked, sending a glare her way but she sent a fist in his direction, he ducked, and with a glint in her eyes, she grabbed hold of his tanto before wrenching it out. There was no hesitation, no voice in her head crying out for her to stop, only this man before her, threatening her precious family. No one was allowed to do that.

With a cry, she jammed it downward, stabbing into the man's back with all the strength she could muster. Blood splattered like flying rose petals before landing on her face. She looked at her reddened clothes with deeply set cold eyes. She felt nothing at her actions.

Konami took a single step away, the man falling with a final gasp before slumping on the ground.

Behind her, she heard them panting, Nagato whimpering. She took another step away from the man, bringing her cold fingertips to her face, wet by the rain and blood. She flicked it off dispassionately, a slight frown on her face. Unlike a few moments before, she was hesitant to face her boys, she didn't know what they would think of her now. She looked down at the man she had just killed. She felt nothing directed at him, nothing. But she knew how Nagato felt about death.

With a pained smile, she turned to him and said, "Are you afraid of me now?"

He was frozen there, a single eye visible now as his red bangs parted. Konami turned to look away, but decided that helping Yahiko up was better than nothing as she crossed the distance between them. She wiped the rain from his face, looping an arm beneath his shoulders to bring him closer, "Yahiko, wake up, you aren't going to get far if you're taken down by a measly push." Actually, it might have been that the shinobi had pulsed chakra into that hit. An untrained boy such as Yahiko wouldn't stand a chance against that. The orange haired boy groaned.

"Is everyone alright!?" Jiraiya came in then, Tsunade close behind, coming immediately towards the fallen boy and blood splattered girl. He looked perplexed, gazing at the fallen shinobi before glancing his gaze up to the still boy whose eyes had been revealed. Jiraiya gasped softly, expression pinching, "What happened here?"

Konami frowned before saying, "I killed the man who attacked us. He's a renegade shinobi, I believe. He was demanding we give him our food and then he struck Yahiko, so I..." Nagato visibly flinched, nearly breaking her heart as she trailed off. She didn't, _couldn't_ be hated by him. Still, she couldn't will herself to be ashamed of her actions.

"You...?" Jiraiya's eyes only widened, "Let's get back to the house."

"Yes."

* * *

**Strength - ****強さ**

* * *

Before Konan had launched herself through the door, announcing that other kids he had taken on were in danger, Jiraiya had been facing a concern. His latest novel.

He had found inspiration in Yahiko's words the night before, yet he still had no clue on what he should write. He only knew that he wanted his hero to somehow bring the world to peace by wiping away hatred. But how could he accomplish such a thing? He knew, from personal experience and his intimate knowledge with war and battles, that it wasn't going to be easy. He leaned back, sighing, which only added to his misery when Tsunade looked up from the book she had been reading about some sort of medical mysteries, horror stories for iryo-nin and the like.

"Problems?"

He just sighed, getting up from his spot in front of the table and went into the kitchen, grabbing a cup before filling it with tap water. He downed it quickly, staring at the empty glass as if it could give him the answers to all of life's greatest questions. Jiraiya groaned.

Tsunade came in after him then, "Are you having problems writing because I'm here?" The tone in her voice was defensive, and Jiraiya quickly shook his head.

He had a feeling that he'd be faced the same issue if she had been here or not. Of course, like most writers, he liked to be left to his own devices but Tsunade was a quiet companion, one whose beauty had inspired his work for his first romance novel Icha Icha Paradise. The first book, of what was planned to be a continuing series, had done very well in stores, garnering attention from all five shinobi nations. Even his student, Minato, had greatly enjoyed it, something he was glad to know. However, he didn't want to write the second book just yet. First, he wanted to write something that could change the world. It might have been childish, but something in him had stirred by Yahiko's words. Yes, he hated war, he hated the aftermath of it, and most of all he _hated_ the feeling of being useless to help.

He had thought it was his destiny, that it had been because of this desire to help, that the four children had come to him in need, requesting that he teach them ninjutsu. He was having trouble deciding. For one thing, was it something they'd even excel at? The only one that stood out in that regards was Konami, being a sensor along with her calculatingly observant personality. She somehow managed to create an entire _code_ on her own, at a very young age. Heck, she was only five and yet she had the makings to be a prodigy in heed to being an analyst, or a commander. Yet she still had that illness that was sure to hold her back, at least physically. However, the other three hadn't really proven that they had what it takes to be shinobi, he didn't want them to commit _just yet_. They had a future after all, and one they were in charge of. Yahiko would, he had to admit grudgingly, be a great leader, with the way the other children followed after him like he was their god.

Jiraiya sighed.

"It's not you, Hime," he told Tsunade, in his usual manner of using that nickname. She flushed, eyes glancing away and his heart gave a slight jump in his chest. She, out of all the women he had seen in the world on his missions and journeys, was the most captivatingly beautiful, what with the way that her amber eyes could sharpen and soften at a moments notice, the way her skin looked so tauntingly soft. He couldn't count how many times he had fantasized about bedding her, hearing her pants and moans in his ear. He was certain that this was the woman for him, but before he did anything to romance her, he needed to find something.

His destiny.

"Fool," Tsunade muttered underneath her breath.

It was then that Konan burst through the door, breathless as she shouted, "Sensei, come quick! It's urgent!"

"Lead the way, Konan!" He had launched into a run, Tsunade close behind as they followed the young girl. Minutes later, they came upon a confusing sight. There was no danger to be seen, being as the only foreign face was the man laying on his front, a tanto stuck into his back as his blood pooled around his body. Konami's face had blood on her soft face but she looked undisturbed, eyes trained on Yahiko while she tried to rouse his eyes open, "Is everyone alright?" Konami met his gaze, her eyes looking vastly different from usual. There was no emotion there, he discerned, "What happened here?"

A tiny frown played on the girl's lips before she answered, "I killed the man who attacked us. He's a renegade shinobi, I believe. He was demanding we give him our food and then he struck Yahiko, so I..." Konami trailed off then, gaze going past his shoulder.

He looked to the shinobi and felt baffled. The man was a chuunin, one from Iwagakure. How she even managed to do that was beyond him.

Jiraiya shook his head of the confusing thoughts so he could assess Yahiko's condition, but that was before he looked up to a frozen Nagato, making sure he was unharmed. What he saw wrangled a slight intake of air because in all his years he had never thought he would come to see that particular dojutsu. The Rinnegan was a myth at best, being as it was something that hadn't been reported for a long, long time.

_Those eyes, don't tell me he...it can't be._ _That shape, that pattern, I can't believe it...that eye, said to hold the most noble of the three great dojutsu. The Rinnegan, which had originated with the Sage of Six Paths, the father of all shinobi. It's said that the Rinnegan eye possessing sage developed all the jutsu known to us today. He's rumored to reappear whenever the world becomes corrupt, he's capable of being a god-like force for creation, or an all obliterating instrument of destruction. I had thought it was just a myth, but here's someone who _actually_ possess it._

Another sharp intake of breath as he recalled what had been told to him long ago, by the Great Toad Sage himself, Gamamaru. '_You who are singularly pervy, shall become a great shinobi and once you do, you shall acquire an apprentice of your very own. That apprentice will become a shinobi that will bring about a great change in the Shinobi Nations. That is what I saw in my dream. You will be the one to guide this revolutionary change and eventually there will come a day when you will be forced to make a critical selection.'_

With one look into those eyes he _knew_, even as Konan began to help the shocked Nagato walk, he just _knew._

He had found his destiny.

* * *

**Strength - ****強さ**

* * *

After everything had been sorted out and explained, Konami had finally been able to take a bath.

With her bloodied clothes strewn about on the bathroom floor, she was alone in the tub of hot, lilac scented water. It had been Tsunade to draw the bath and she must have done something special to add a scent to calm her down, to center her thoughts. Yet, she didn't feel whatever you were supposed to feel after killing someone. Yes, she was aware of the weight a single soul had, but she couldn't bring herself to feel guilty. It was confusing, she knew she was supposed to feel at least _something_ about the events but the only thing she could muster was the fact that Nagato was, indeed, terrified of her now.

It hurt, strangely so.

It was something that had rooted itself deep within her chest, having grabbed a painful hold around her heart. It was different from the usual physical pain that she endured, this was an ebbing ache that would only come back, full throttle, to make her lose a breath. Clutching her knees to her chest, her long hair spilled around her and she was hidden behind it.

It was something she was grateful for, because it hid the hot warm tears that spilled out.

She didn't regret her actions. She regretted being seen by Nagato, because she had always known his stance on death. He was afraid of her, he was afraid of her, he was afraid of her. She, in his eyes, was like a monster with sharp cold eyes. It had been a fear of hers, she was sure that she was turning into one because _she just couldn't feel anything over being a murderer_. She wondered why.

Why, when she had an entire lifetime ago that preached murder as something wrong, did she just not care?

Her hold on her knees tightened, as the tears continued to spill even if she was silent in her self-inflicted torture. There was something terribly wrong with her.

Someone like her shouldn't exist in this world.

With a sigh, she ducked her face into the water and held her breath, visions of being caught in the river coming back to her. She recoiled away, water spraying as she jerked her head away, inhaling air as if she were about to suffocate. Her chest felt impossibly heavy and could it be that she actually felt betrayed? Of course she did. After all, she had loved Nagato, still did, and had been there for his ups and downs from the moment he had come into her life. Yet, he hadn't been able to look past her actions to think back on it, or _why_ she had done what she had done.

She wouldn't take back a second of it, she knew deep within her gut, that she had at least done right when she had stopped Nagato from using the Rinnegan to kill that renegade shinobi. At least he could could hate her, and not himself. She smiled to herself, looking through thin, wet strands of hair. She had at least done good by that, she had fulfilled her job. Because, after all, she had already decided to take on the world, if it would only keep her family safe, long ago.

Suddenly, she felt better about things. She didn't need to be loved, she just needed to keep them safe.

With that new found resolve, she finished up in her bath before drying off and getting dressed. She padded quietly through the house before meeting Tsunade, who gave her an appraising look.

"You don't even seem bothered that you just killed a man today," she commented, but her tone wasn't negative, just curious.

Konami shrugged, "I did what I had to do...where are the others."

Tsunade grinned, "Well, it seems that you attract trouble like magnets, so Jiraiya and I have decided to take you on as our students. He's telling them now, but, given your current condition, you won't be joining them for awhile."

She frowned, "So, what will I be doing until then?"

"I'll be taking you on as my personal student, you'll be learning iryo-ninjutsu, alongside Nagato, who volunteered to stay with you while the others are out."

Konami blinked, surprised. He had... She couldn't comprehend _why_ he had agreed to do it, he'd be stuck with her, after all. Nonetheless, she felt light on her feet.

"Okay," she mumbled, "okay," she repeated, letting it sink in.

"Why don't we go join in," Tsunade suggested as she simply nodded. They made their way into the living room where Yahiko was pumping his fist, a broad grin on his face.

"Hell yeah! I'm gonna get so powerful, just you guys wait!"

"I think Konami has a head start on you there," Konan joked and the orange haired boy scowled.

"Yeah but I'm going to train now and become even stronger now! You always talk too much, Konan," he muttered the last part lowly, pouting.

The girl just laughed. Konami found herself joining in the laughter as she sat besides her older sister, long blue hair spilling around her. Her family greeted her with smiles, Nagato slowly more hesitant than the others.

"I do have to say, thank you Konami, you really saved us back there," Yahiko told her, patting her on the back.

She shrugged, a small smile on her lips, "I would do anything for the three of you."

Was it just her or did Nagato just flinch. He cleared his throat and spoke up quietly, "I'm sorry I didn't help you, Konami."

Why did just those words...? She felt elated, yet terribly sad at the same time as she smiled at him softly, "Nagato, you weren't meant to harm others. You're role is to save them."

He gasped quietly, and for a split second his Rinnegan was revealed before it was hidden once more by his bangs, "Either way...thank you."

"Right," her voice was soft in her reply.

"Well, it seems we have a plan of action now," Jiraiya spoke up, a bright grin on his face even as his gaze lingered on the two quiet kids of the group, "Tomorrow, I'll be waking you up bright and early so we can get started."

"Yeah!" Yahiko cheered, eyes alight with excitement, "What will we be doing?"

"Manipulating chakra."

Konami found herself smiling, because things had turned out for the better. Nagato didn't hate her, she had managed to save him the guilt of murder on his hands, and they were going to start training so that they could change the world. Her smile widened. Yes, and she would ensure that _would_ happen.

Because tomorrow, she would find true strength in herself to do that.

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**Strength - ****強さ ****\- End**

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**Unedited**

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**Next On Monopoly: Child of a Frog is a Frog - 蛙の子は蛙**

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_I'm looking for a beta, anyone interested that has good grammar?_

_Early update because of the holidays and the unexpected influx of readers (thank you so much). Next update will be on January 10th._


	3. Child of a Frog is a Frog

**Monopoly - ****独占**

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_**3**_

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**TW For This Chapter: **I can't think of any, nightmares?

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Konami woke up, _jolted_ awake, more like, as she panted into the darkness of night.

It had been just another nightmare, but this one was vastly different in comparison to the others in that it couldn't be related to the manga she usually dreamt of. Instead, it had been of something else, something she couldn't put a new to. All she could recall, as the memories of it skittered beneath her flashing eyelids, was that there had been a woman, standing alone yet surrounded, nearly engulfed, by flames. She had an expression of wretched loneliness ingrained in her features and just that very look made Konami's heart ache. It had been a curious start to one of her dreams but then that woman had begun to chase after her, yelling out something she hadn't wanted to hear. Konami, in the end, had been caught as blood red claws took hold of her. She had stared up with wide eyes as the woman morphed in front of her, changing even as she chanted her words. The last sight had been of a terribly scarred creature, their eyes had been bleeding out with what looked like molten gold as the substance dripped onto her face. Just as the being had released a scream into her ear, Konami answering with a blood curdling shriek, she'd woken up, soaked in sweat.

The words echoed in her ears now, one that had struck her very heart with pain. _You're just a monster no one should have to treat kind._

She rubbed her eyes, sitting up in bed, she gazed around the room, her eyes falling on Konan's form with a long-suffering look directed at her. She shuddered, suddenly feeling very, very alone. Konami sighed into her hands, muffling the noise she created. Today, after all, would be the day they started their training with chakra manipulation, Nagato and her under Tsunade's guidance and Konan with Yahiko under Jiraiya's. That was only for now, until Konami was healthy enough to go through extended periods of time in the rain along with the rest of them.

She wondered if she would be holding Nagato back, being as he had the Rinnegan and all. He would be able to learn all jutsu with simple ease. She hoped she wasn't holding him back in that regard. Biting her lip, Konami shuffled out of the futon as she headed to the kitchen for a glass of water. Passing through the living room, she was somewhat surprised to see that both Tsunade and Jiraiya were at the table, the former reading and the latter writing furiously on his paper. She cocked her head and watched with curiosity as the two Sannin looked up.

"Is something wrong?" Tsunade asked, making moves to stand up. Konami held up a palm, pursing her lips. To avoid or not to avoid? To tell or not to tell?

"I can never sleep very well," she admitted quietly, glass of water forgotten when she came to sit beside the older woman.

"Insomnia?" Jiraiya inquired, "Are you troubled over killing that man?"

Konami quickly shook her head, "I don't care about that. He was a bad man, after all."

"I know a tea that could calm your nerves," Tsunade brought up, "though getting the proper ingredients could be hard."

The young girl shook her head, an amused expression in her eyes, "It isn't a big deal, and I'm used to it by now."

The two Sannin still looked troubled but Tsunade ended up shrugging before saying, "I'll let it slide for now, but if it happens to be detrimental to your studies and health, we're doing something about it."

"Right," Konami gave them a serious look of affirmation before it melted into a smile, "Thank you, Tsunade, Jiraiya."

The adults exchanged similar looks, looking pleased, before Jiraiya reached a hand out to ruffle her loose hair. She tried not to wince even knowing that brushing out the knots would take a bit of time now. Tsunade smacked his hand away and with a knowing glint to her amber eyes, she smoothed out the hectic strands, a small smile playing on her lips. Konami couldn't help but giggle.

"You're like a mom and dad," she commented before standing up to get that glass of water. When she came back, they were staring wide eyed at one another.

"Ne, Konami," Tsunade spoke up, voice thin and eyes pinched, "you don't think that we could be parents together, do you?"

The azure-haired girl took a hesitant step back, brows creasing as she tried to find hidden meaning, "Um," she started out with eloquently. She winced, "I, uh, I think you would be good together. As parents," she added as an afterthought. Konami didn't want her messaged to get misconstrued. She could be wrong though, they could end up killing each other if they were parents to a child.

Jiraiya gave a forced, hearty laugh, "Maa, maa, kids say the craziest things, right?" He nudged Tsunade with an elbow, who turned to glare at him.

"The craziest," the blonde repeated, voice at a deadpan.

Nervously, Konami laughed. After downing her water and setting down the glass, she gingerly walked away, murmuring a soft, "I'll try to go back to sleep..."

"Please do, you have a busy ahead of you," Tsunade called back, words said in a warning tone.

Thus, Konami clambered back into the shared futon with her sister, leaching off body warm as she got comfortable beneath the blankets. She closed her eyes in a visible attempt to get back to sleep yet it was futile as she released a sigh and gave up on getting back to sleep. Her eyes were wide open, imagining that they were melting just like the monster in her dream.

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**Child of a Frog is a Frog - ****蛙の子は蛙**

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Tsunade, when deciding to stay in Ame with Jiraiya, hadn't _expected_ to come to like the brats that had begged for their help on another rainy day in the middle of a warzone. She had been surprised when she had discovered that these kids had actually had the _gall_ to track down the newly named Legendary Sannin of Konohagakure and request blatantly for food and an apprenticeship. She was even more surprised by the fact that their main tracker was a girl with a particularly _nasty_ rare disease. She can still recall the state Konami had been in, how on the verge of death she had been with a fever to boot. Tsunade couldn't help but admire the girl for the inner strength and determination she contained within her tiny body. It was by a miracle of sorts that the treatments had been going so well, to the point that she even had the strength to take down a chuunin of all things!

She didn't know what surprised her most about the young girl, the look in her eyes, an almost old-soul gaze that she had only ever seen on her grandmother's face, or the readiness to put her body through hell and back if it meant helping her friends and sister. It was heartwarming, in a way, being as she could relate. Her own little brother, even if deceased, was still a precious memory to her and Konami only served to remind her of her love for him. It was really surprising, being that these kids were starting to become the best sort of therapy compared to the usual way she handled things. They kept her mind busy with other things, and it brought out that longing to take care of someone within her, even if she hadn't known it was there.

Tsunade, often times, found herself wondering if they were doing the right thing by sticking behind while the Second Shinobi World War dwindled out. Shouldn't they be more active in helping others? Then again, Jiraiya had been dead set, after discovering Nagato's dojutsu, on training the brats into full-fledged shinobi. She supposed that it was just another one of his quirks that he hadn't immediately decided to take the kids back to Konoha, being as how precious such a dojutsu was. She couldn't fathom why he didn't even bring it up but she guessed that it had to do with the dreams Yahiko spouted off with, claiming he would save the Ame nation.

The Sannin's mind began to wander, wondering to herself why she had even decided to stay in Ame in the first place. She could have settled to heal up the girl once as best she could and leave her to her fate—Konami seemed plenty fine with it herself so it wasn't as if she were leaving a begging child. The thing was, Tsunade had long ago given up on Jiraiya when she had agreed to go out with Dan Katou, a man who shared similar views. In fact, even as she kept it from Jiraiya, she was sure she was starting to fall in love with the fellow jounin, she just needed that extra time with Dan. Yet, she didn't get that extra time, being as she had decided to stay back. Inwardly, Tsunade was groaning. She was an idiot, a fool just as he was, that she couldn't leave that lingering crush alone. It had been his fault for his shameless flirting that her interest had even been piqued in the first place but...

If she were honest with herself, her forgotten (never to be revived) crush began a few years ago, when the war started, and their trio had been united as fighting force for the aid of the war. They hadn't been able to see each other for a while before that time and when they did, he was his usual self, someone who never ceased in his mission to annoy the crap out of her. Yet, on their first mission, when Jiraiya had taken a particularly nasty blow in her stead, she had gotten to see a refreshing side to him and, dare she think it, _cool_. She inwardly flinched, recalling as she had only began to see many more sides of him that were good, but... That had been before Nawaki died, and she had met Dan.

Now, she was just concerned with _why_ and what reason she had to stay with them.

The obvious answer would be that the kids needed her, especially Konami, but even then, they could be fine with Jiraiya alone. Another answer would be that she could use this as a reprieve, a vacation of sorts, to get away from Konoha and the prevailing happy feel it gave off, even despite the war. She wondered if she had never actually given up on Jiraiya and instead was still, subconsciously, attuned to him. She wanted to see Dan.

With a sigh, she found herself pulling out the blue stone her grandfather had given to her and gazing at it, picturing is around Dan's neck. She blinked the oncoming tears away and snuggled deeper into her thick blankets before throwing them off her. She wasn't a fan of wallowing, in fact, she had done that for far too long when Nawaki died. With a pang in her heart, she headed to the restroom to freshen up, brushing her teeth, before knocking on the kid's bedroom.

"Rise and shine!" Tsunade yelled down the hall even as she headed to the kitchen, in search of food. She was mutely surprised to see that Konami was already up, bustling around the kitchen with a spatula in hand. The young girl had been making something very strange that she had never seen before and the older woman moved forward slowly, wondering if Konami had finally snapped and was going insane.

The golden eyed girl spun around, eyes wide as she gave a slight gasp before her expression melted into a warm smile, "I wasn't able to go back to sleep last night and then I remembered these things, I mean, I _thought_ of these things called pancakes. So I spent a bit of time trying to remember how to make the batter mix and when I remembered, I realized that we didn't have all the right ingredients. I had nearly given up hope when I saw that there were things I could substitute it in for," Konami paused, "I'm not crazy, I swear."

Tsunade couldn't help the laughter that bubbled forth, even coming to the point where she had to clutch her stomach, eyes tearing up while she begged her body to stop the torment. This girl! She was so quiet, always so serious that it made moments like this, Tsunade decided, merely cherishable, and highly humorous. She had never known Konami could talk so much, almost thinking that the young girl was working with a word limit. When Tsunade finally managed to reign in her boisterous cackles, with the few chuckles here and there, she gazed at Konami with mystified wonder. She was blushing furiously, looking helpless even as she worked on the 'pancake' off to the side on the skillet over the stove.

"You're seriously cute, you know that?" Tsunade came to pat the young girl's messy hair, who in turn seemed to brighten further, her lower lip trembling. Ah, there it was. That ever present shyness. It had always amused the Sannin, given how confident she usually was, how serene her expression could get while calmly gazing outside one of the windows. Tsunade wondered if Konami was aware of the presences she exuded, the knowing looks and the vibrant eyes that looked less like amber and more like gold. Still, she grinned, "I'm excited to try it then."

Konami seemed to beam, her eyes nearly coming to a close as her mouth stretched broadly. She gave a little laugh that made Tsunade want to pinch her cheeks for but paved off the desire as she took a seat at the low table, waiting patiently even when she watched the young girl flit across the floor boards with a practiced ease.

Before long, the rest of the household began to fill in with as much curiosity that Tsunade had about these mysterious things called 'pancakes', which seemed to be a sort of soft bread that continued to be piled up and stacked on the plate Konami had been using to store them. A few minutes later, the young girl came out, a smile playing softly on her lips, as she served them. Konami only came to seat herself once everyone had their plates full. They were hesitant, all of them gazing at the strange food with mixed expression. Tsunade released a snort before using her chopsticks to heft out a piece of the bread-like substance and taking a bite out of it.

With wide eyes she released a tiny gasp just as she chewed it, savoring the 'pancake' in her mouth, "It's good!" Tsunade wasn't even lying, it _was_ good. It held such a strange texture, lightly fluffed and buttery, yet it was sweet, like dango and mixed in with a touch of salt. She looked to the girl once more, this time with awe. It was as if she were perfect, and the little girl's past actions had only solidified this feeling, being that she was a cutie, determined, obedient, a prodigy in the makings and now, of all things, she was a better cook than Tsunade was. She took another bite, almost groaning when it was just as good—if not better—than the last one.

The others had taken Tsunade's actions in stride, each of them having dug in. Konami's efforts were met with thickly-laid on praise.

"You should be my wife," Yahiko was saying, eyes wide as he spoke around a mouthful of pancake, "This is seriously the best thing I'd ever had!"

Konami wrinkled her nose, "You're my big brother, Yahiko. It's not like I need to be married to you for me to cook for you."

"Then, no guy is taking you away from us," the orange haired brat said earnestly, determined, "You're hereby forbidden from getting married."

Everyone laughed, watching on as Konami smiled, nodding.

"When did you learn how to make this?" Konan asked, her eyes confused but soft. She smiled, "You never did anything like this in the past."

Konami shrugged, "I wasn't big enough and we never had enough money…I actually have a lot of ideas for recipes."

Tsunade made a noise in the back of her throat before saying, "Experiment on us, Konami, feed us delicious food." She was almost _sad_ that her plate was almost empty.

Konami's forehead creased, her lips drawing out in concentration, "Well, there was this thing to put _on_ the pancakes but I don't know what it could be called or how to make it…"

It was a strange thing to say, as if she were speaking of prior knowledge that just had to be remembered. Tsunade kept the frown off her face as she gave the young girl a passive smile, "Where did you come up with these ideas?"

Konami cocked her head, as she always did when she was about to answer a question, "My dreams…? I think that's the case. I have a lot of dreams that give me a lot of ideas. I used to write them down when I was younger," Konami hesitated, brows creasing ever so slightly, "but those ideas were bad. They weren't for food," she went on, almost nervously, "they were for stories."

"You want to be a writer?" Jiraiya looked at her appraisingly even when she shook her head.

"I couldn't ever be, I wouldn't be able to."

It was one of those strange moments again, where Tsunade had the feeling that Konami's maturity level was much greater than appearances told. It was almost disconcerting, being as Tsunade, even being a clan kid, hadn't ever given off the feeling of being a grown adult. Konami looked sad.

"I like your cooking," Nagato suddenly spoke up, veering the conversation away from books and writing. Tsunade wondered, distantly, if he had done it on purpose, noticing the troubled expression on the six year old's face.

Konami seemed to brighten, gazing at Nagato with adoring eyes as she usually did, "Thank you."

He nodded in reply.

Tsunade observed them with new found interest. It almost felt as if they had kid crushes on one another, but that didn't seem to fit bill. Konami wasn't interested in romance, and neither was Nagato. They, out of all of them, looked to just find comfort in family moments. Perhaps, it was more fitting to categorize the two as a pair of best friends.

She nodded to herself, a slight smile on her lips as she gazed at the brats and her teammate, who was arguing over something with Yahiko, Konan watching on with humor in her amber eyes. Perhaps, it wasn't such a bad thing to be in this place, with these kids. Heck, she even entertained the thought that these precious moments was something apart of her destiny.

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**Child of a Frog is a Frog - ****蛙の子は蛙**

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Training had been going smoothly for the past few days. Konami still couldn't keep a fish alive, but she was slowly progressing. One thing that was certain was that she wasn't naturally inclined to iryo-ninjutsu. While she could take Tsunade's lessons with stride and be able to _understand_ them, it was growing increasingly hard to actually _physically_ accomplish something. She was even growing increasingly frustrated when her chakra refused to obey her. Of course, suppressing it was easy, but actually getting it to move anywhere other than her core, as she had been doing for the past year, was almost impossible. Tsunade kept reminding her that most six year olds didn't have the control needed to move their chakra inside their bodies, forget about distributing it. She had also kept repeating that due to her age, she wasn't expected to actually keep the fish alive until later, _much_ later. For now, it was just something to advance her control further. Control, it seemed, was taking over her life. It was all she ever did when she wasn't studying the medical scrolls and books that Tsunade had been shipping in, or cooking. It was a schedule by now. During the times that she wasn't struggling to keep a fish alive, she was trying to get a cursed leaf to stick to her forehead. She had barely managed fifteen seconds, and that was with heavy determination and panting. Nagato, when the strain had grown too much on her, had even snatched the leaf from her, a slight scowl coloring his features.

Apparently, what was keeping her back from using her chakra properly was that most of it was just sitting around, collecting dust, while the rest was already working to keep her body alive. It was frustrating, knowing that she had extra chakra to expend but it was entirely useless to her. That was what she was currently working on; trying to find the siting chakra and making it useable. Otherwise, as Jiraiya was saying to her, she was in danger of having her nerves fried and her health depleting with using the only chakra that was keeping her body at homeostasis. It was proving to be a difficult task, one she was determined to bull doze through, despite all circumstances. She refused, _refused_, to be useless to her family. If worse came to worse, she would work on becoming like the pair of green Konoha-nin, the two thick-browed, bowl-headed taijutsu masters that she was useless in recalling the names of. Of course, she wouldn't be donning the gaudy outfit, but she would be sure to focus on taijutsu soon, if her body allowed it. Konami inwardly winced.

She really wished her illness didn't keep her back from catching up with the others.

By the way Yahiko bragged, he'd already been able to manipulate his chakra, molding and mixing the spiritual and physical energy easily together. He had been even going as far as to be able to channel it into his chakra pathways to all over his body's tenketsu points, keeping leaves stuck to his body as if it were child's play. It didn't necessarily mean he had great chakra control, only that molding it came easy to him. In fact, control seemed to be evading him like a fly, being as he was unable to distinctly tell which of the three hundred and thirty one tenketsu points he was directing his chakra to. Konan was much better in that regard, having had prior teachings from their father, and she had already gone on to start her lessons with water and tree walking.

Nagato was...

Well, he was a genius, picking up iryo-ninjutsu as if it were like breathing to him. He seemed as shocked as everyone else was when he'd managed to keep the fish alive with only _five hours under Tsunade's supervision_ and _two hours of practice_. It was frustrating to say the least but Konami was determined not to be jealous, even when Tsunade began to pile on lessons on him, just for the sake of him being distracted with _something_. Konami was aware that this had to do with his eyes and Jiraiya's attempt at training him to use them properly. It was sort of turning into an experiment, trial-and-error, sort of deal, being as Jiraiya, nor anyone else for that matter, had ever seen the Rinnegan's true capabilities or how to reach those skills. Apparently, when Konami was able to be outside for extended periods of time, he was going to start learning nature manipulation, to test out if the rumors were true. So far, it looked that it would be a while before that would happen. Konami was as ill as ever, frustratingly so.

With little attempt to hide it, she groaned, leaning into Nagato's side to leech off his warmth.

"What's wrong?"

The young girl stared up at the older boy with a strange look, but sighed in the end before mumbling out, "I can't find the dormant physical chakra in my body."

Nagato gazed at her, slightly surprised as he murmured softly, "You don't look like the others do."

She snorted, slightly surprised by what he had just said, "Of course I don't, genetics and all."

He just shook his head, "N-No, I mean that your _chakra_ looks different. You don't have a lot of physical energy, but there's…what did Jiraiya-sensei call it?"

"Spiritual chakra," Tsunade spoke up from her corner of the room, looking up from her book with a tight expression, "Nagato, this is new. You can _see_ chakra?"

He nodded, looking dumbfounded, "I thought…So, not everyone can see it?"

"Idiot," Konami couldn't resist lovingly teasing him, ruffling his hair before leaning in more closely while wrapping her arms around his as se squeezed in more closely. It was something she had strangely taken to doing, after Nagato hadn't begun to hate her when she killed that man.

He seemed to brighten with a blush when she looked up with hooded eyes, "I didn't know." His voice nearly came out as a whine, causing the azure haired girl to nearly laugh out loud by how cute she found it.

Tsunade made a noise in the back of her throat before speaking up again, "Konami, we're going to change up tactics. I had my suspicions but Nagato had just made it easier on us."

Her brows lifted, "What do you mean?"

"You aren't going to be _using_ physical chakra, you're going to be using spiritual."

She nearly frowned, "I don't understand."

The blonde woman groaned as if it were a hassle to explain but went on anyway, "Let's start from the very basics, right? Chakra, at its very basic nature, is life energy, something that all beings produce to some degree in order to survive. This is the very reason your health is so precarious, because you merely don't produce enough chakra to maintain what you need to live. This is what we've been trying to fix, by forcing your body to react to a sudden depletion in order for it to produce more being as chakra is created when two forms of energy, physical and spiritual, combine. Physical energy is ordinarily collected from each and every one of the body's cells and can be increased through training, stimulants, and exercise. Spiritual energy, on the other hand, is derived from the mind's consciousness and can be increased through studying, meditation, and experience. These two energies coming together will in turn make the created chakra more powerful. Therefore, practicing a technique repeatedly will build up experience, increasing one's spiritual energy, and thus allowing more chakra to be created. As a result, the ninja is able to do that same technique with more power. This same cycle applies for physical energy, except the ninja needs to increase their endurance instead. I had assumed that some of it was lying dormant in your body, because with your activities, you shouldn't have a problem creating chakra, meaning there's a block, something we've been missing, but doesn't affect your spiritual energy. There's an imbalance, making your body unable to create usable chakra unless we figure out how to fix your physical energy. I suspect your disease had affected that, but I've been keeping that at bay with our sessions. This means that we need to study your coils and figure out what has been damaged and what isn't."

"Okay," Konami simply said, many things suddenly making a whole lot of sense.

"Nagato? Do you think you can see chakra points?" Tsunade studied the red-head who in turn looked to Konami, a frown on his face.

"I wouldn't know what to look for."

"That's easy. We'll have you use Konan as a basis as someone healthy. You'll just compare the two and go from there."

"Okay," he mumbled out sheepishly.

"I'll go get her now then." Tsunade stood up after setting her book aside and promptly left the room, leaving the two to their thoughts.

"Do you actually think I'm an idiot?" Nagato softly asked, moments later.

Konami gazed at him with mild surprise before smiling, "No, I think you're a genius. I was just trying out what Tsunade and Jiraiya do, you know? They're very passive aggressive and insults are how they express their love."

"Those two must love each other very much then."

Konami nodded before leaning in more closely, "Ne, are you still afraid? Are you still angry?"

Nagato froze, but softened against her after a brief moment of silence, "No, I don't think I am. At them, that is. I don't know how I'd feel about any other Konoha-nin." His head drooped, revealing his sadness, "I still miss my parents."

The young girl made a noise before nudging him, "Tell me about them."

Nagato released a chuckle before tilting his head to face her, his forehead touching hers. He spoke softly, "My mother was a very kind woman, with the most beautiful long red hair. She came from an island that later fell to ruin. She ran away, I think. She was surviving alone for a while before she met my dad. He was cool, quiet and level-headed. My mom was always much more excitable, kind of like Yahiko."

"You take after your dad then? You're a very quiet person," Konami noted.

"Before…I was happier. You'd say I took after my mom, if you had known me then," Nagato sounded very sad then, and Konami felt even her heart ache.

She pulled away from him, abruptly standing up as she picked up a fallen scroll. With a quick glance to appraise its usefulness, she began to tear it up and set to work on her folding. She ignored Nagato's squawk of worry, and moments later, she held up a bird's beak to her face.

"Do I look cool?" She had asked him then, smiling even if it couldn't be seen, "You know, people are full of many layers, aren't we? You wouldn't expect me to make a bird's mask with a scroll that may or may not get me flayed as punishment, would you? Not normally, but people are full of many surprises, don't you think? Nagato, this you is merely another part, and all of us love it just the same as the rest of you."

He still looked at her with shock as moments ticked by with silence. Then, his face broke into a grin, laughing out in the loudest voice she had ever heard coming from him, "You're very cool!"

It was her turn to laugh then, the stress of the past week evaporating quickly as she went back to sitting next to Nagato, a smile on her face and folded beak in hand.

Tsunade arrived back moments later, drenched in water and scowls while Konan walked in with a breezy smile.

"Let's get started," the blonde snapped, obviously irritated by the rainy weather.

Konami resisted a giggle as the two sisters settled themselves side by side in front of the red-head. He assessed closely, eyes pinching with concentration. His eyes shifted seriously over the two girls almost disconcertingly before he finally spoke up, "It's at her heart. The damaged coil is at her heart."

Tsunade froze, an audible intake of air resounding in the air softly.

"What's wrong?" Konan's voice hitched, "Is it bad?"

Tsunade swallowed before forcing out a smile, "We'll be halting your training, Konami. You are unfit to be a kunoichi."

The young girl's world froze, her stomach dropping and her heart beating painfully in her chest, "Do you mean that I'm useless?" It hurt to even speak the words, much less think them— _feel _them. Tsunade opened her mouth but she quickly spoke up, "No, _no, _no, don't say it. Don't say it." She felt the hot, burning tears build up and with simple, furious blinks, they spilled over her cheeks, dripping to the bird's beak in her hands, "No."

"Konami," Tsunade started, but the young girl had enough of it. She stood up, mindless to the fact that her body was shaking, horribly. Wasting not a second, even as her teeth chattered and she suddenly felt the suffocating chill of reality, Konami ran out of the room, clutching a crumpled up beak in her hand. This wasn't, _wasn't _fair!

Why else was she placed on this world for?

She felt a sob bubble forth as she slammed through the front door, thoughtlessly running with heavy footsteps, the mud covering her naked feet. With fumbling fingers, she tore out the braid in her hair, the long locks cascading down her back freely before they soon became soaked in the rain's heavy downpour. Konami was gasping for breath now, her lungs burning with the effort to breathe, her heart pumping dangerously in her chest. She needed to—she needed to! What did she need to do? She couldn't even protect her family, she was useless to them this way.

Konami stopped, her body wracked with shakes and pain.

The rain showered over her, drenching her body with little care.

"I hate you," she spat out as she panted hoarsely, "I hate you!"

_Who do you hate? Why?_

"I hate the rain because it never stops. I hate the sun because it never shows. I hate my disease because it leaves me ruined. I hate this war because it left us _all _ruined. I hate _myself_ because I'm useless. I hate this entire world because it allows itself to be ransacked by war."

She crumbled to her knees, a sob ripping through her chest. Konami brought her fist up to pound against the mud furiously, causing it to spray and fleck her cheeks.

"Am I not worth notice? Am I to be unusable to them? Would I never be able to change a thing? I don't care if I never pick up a single kunai again, but why is it me? Why can't I protect them, the way they do me? Why was I even born, if for no other reason than to suffer?"

She screamed then, furious and torn.

"_Why!?_"

Konami felt cold and hollow when the world began to fade away to nothingness.

* * *

**Child of a Frog is a Frog - ****蛙の子は蛙**

* * *

She woke up to being fussed over, a wet, warm cloth brushing up over her skin. She was hoarsely panting and she felt terribly hot all over. Her eyes opened then and she met amber orbs, the owner of them having a certain redness to them that indicated tears.

"Konan," Konami said softly, her throat sore.

"Be quiet, you idiot," Konan snapped, "How could you make us worry that much? You have a fever now, you stupid idiot."

Konami felt too empty inside to feel the guilt fully, even as it hung over her like a ghost.

"She's awake?" Yahiko's voice spoke up, sounding tired, sleepy as his chakra signature came closer, his brown eyes gazing down at her with bags and worry, "Konami."

"Yahiko," was her quiet reply.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault isn't it? I put the idea for us all to become ninja and I wasn't thinking of your health. I'm sorry, Konami, you don't have to become one, okay?"

She grimaced, "I would be useless to you then, wouldn't I be?"

He looked slightly surprised but he sharply shook his head, "I don't know how you got that idea. You're our eyes, aren't you? You're the one with a sensor's abilities, not us."

"Nagato can do that with his eyes," she reminded him and thought of the rain. She knew that he would be able to, in the future, use a jutsu that could sense using the rain. Or at least, that's how she _thought_ it worked.

"Then, you're our…what's the word…caretaker? Yeah, you can make us delicious food and take care of us."

Konami tried to force a smile, "How would I be able to protect you all? I wouldn't be able to repay you."

Yahiko blinked, then cocked his head to the side in confused thought, "Repayment? I don't understand what you have to repay but…you being happy would be our happiness, right Konan?"

"Yeah," the older girl easily agreed, a gentle smile gracing her lips.

"I'll…I'll become the best sensor in the world, big brother," she tightly and stubbornly informed him, tears sliding out from her eyes even as she smiled, "I'll be of use to you, I promise." She just had to get well enough to practice taijutsu in the rain, she needed to build up stamina and work on extending her sensing range. So much so that she could see an entire nation. Konami, despite her earlier freak-out, would take on the entire world if it would aid Yahiko's dream. He had given her life meaning in the bleak times, along with Konan. She had to do something for him, to get this heavy weight of debt off her shoulders. It was a bit selfish but Konami didn't care at all.

"You're awake!" Nagato's voice rang in the quiet air, "You're awake," he repeated as he rushed to her side. She smiled up at him warmly.

"Don't be worried, I'm fine," Konami told him, as she saw the deep bags beneath his eyes, his Rinnegan. She wondered if it never shifted to anything other than that. It must be tiring to only see things with the dojutsu. Thoughtlessly, she brought a feverish hand up to cup his face, trace a finger over his features. He let her with little resistance, eyes pinched with soft worry. _Don't look at me with such a face, I won't be leaving you any time soon, don't look at me with such a face. Not with that face. _"Come close," she ordered him, bringing is face to hers as their eyes met. She studied his with apt attention, never wavering even as she knew that he could see so many things with them, "Don't fear over this, okay?"

He nodded silently against her forehead, "You can't leave me, alright? You can't die before I do, understand?"

"Yes." _Anything for you_.

"I'll fix you, okay? I'll become one of the greatest iryo-nin for you, okay? Just be patient and wait for me."

"Alright."

There was a moment of silence shared between the four of them before Konan spoke up.

"We should all get some sleep."

"I'll go bring in our futon, Nagato," Yahiko murmured, standing up, "We're sleeping together tonight."

Konami felt relief fill her. She hadn't wanted to be left alone, not when she was too physically weak to stand up. If she was more honest, she would even go as far to say that she just didn't want to be more than an inch apart from her family.

As soon as the futons were set up and everyone had settled down, Konami snuggled in closely to Nagato, her hand being held by Konan to the right of her.

"I think I understand the rain a little bit more now," she abruptly spoke up.

"Hm?" It was Yahiko.

Konami swallowed thickly before proceeding, "The rain is how the sky and ground embrace and connect with each other, to show their support and love. It's how the sky wipes the scars away, and protects the ground. Rain nurtures life, doesn't it?" As if to her words, the rain seemed to slow to a lull, becoming a gentle patter outside, a source of comfort.

"Then, isn't the sky just a big crybaby?" Yahiko joked, "I'm kidding…I like that idea a lot, it's nice."

"It makes sense too," Konan added, "The wars here have ruined Ame, so the rain continues to pour so that the ground doesn't feel lonely."

"That means, if we heal this land, then the rain would go away, right" Nagato pitched in.

It might have been from the lack of sleep, but the four suddenly burst into chorused laughter, giddy with the prospect of it.

"That's been our goal all along anyway. We'll make Ame thrive and let the sky know they don't need to worry so much anymore. Though, once in a while, rain can be nice, I guess," Yahiko told them. Konami could hear a grin on his features.

* * *

**Child of a Frog is a Frog - ****蛙の子は蛙**

* * *

"Konami," Tsunade murmured as she came into the room the four orphans shared. She sat up in her futon to find that she was alone in it. With one quick glance to the window, she quickly discerned it was somewhere in the afternoon.

"I overslept," Konami murmured into the quiet room before her gaze traveled back to the blonde woman in front of her, "I'm sorry for yesterday."

Tsunade smiled, slightly, before coming to slid onto the futon with quick motions and facing the young girl with a grimace, "I understand why you wanted to become a kunoichi. I hate to be the bearer of bad news."

Konami nodded, smiling nonetheless, "It's okay. I just have to find out a different way to help them."

"Be careful not to use any chakra. If you do, I'm worried that you'll severely compromise your health. Being that the damage of your coils is by you heart, I'm afraid it's inoperable… Maybe in a few years, I'll have something that could help you, but for now, you'll have to be left behind. I'm sorry."

Konami came to purse her lips as she took the information in. Then, she smiled, "Braid my hair, won't you?"

Tsunade looked surprised for a second, her eyes going wide with confusion. Yet the expression quickly melted into a warm one, "Alright."

Days passed by in boredom after that, with Nagato joining Jiraiya outside, donning on the ridiculous frog rain-proof jumpsuit that made them all look very cute. Tsunade was either inside the house, or outside with the others, but the majority of Konami's time was spent alone, writing. She used the free time to recall things from the past life, often remembering dishes and recipes to recreate in this world. She could even evoke the memories of different manga, like one about these things called 'ghouls' that were forced to eat humans to live. In that life, she had been obsessed with the show. Maybe that was how she became desensitized to death so quickly in this life?

Nevertheless, she wrote down that story as well, and soon that triggered even more memories, and stories to write down, like something about a witch's delivery service. Her favorite, so far, had been the one about a big creature, something called 'Totoro'. He was a neighbor to the girls in the story? Often times, Konami was generally frustrated with the things she _couldn't_ remember. Yet, in the end, if she couldn't recall those tiny details, she'd make them up. That soon became her only source of entertainment when the others were out, training. She never showed the written stories to anyone, being as they weren't hers to begin with, but it was nice to remember the things she had been fond of in a different world.

Rapidly, the books began to pile up in her shared bedroom, being as the boys refused to keep to their room anymore but they were never touched. Sometimes, she would write everything in English, mostly because kanji was hard to write out or even to know. She would need to go to school to learn anything more than she knew now.

Before long, an entire year had passed with only one moment of considerable note out of everything, meaning as it had held heavy meaning to Konan from the original series.

Jiraiya had gathered everyone into the kitchen, next to the door besides it pointing to the blocks on the wall, "Konan is on the right, Yahiko and Konami are in the middle, and Nagato is on the left."

"What are they?" Yahiko asked, a confused scowl placed on his face.

"Our Hop-In planks," Jiraiya announced, as if it should have been obvious to them all.

"Hop-In planks?" Konan softly asked to the grin of Jiraiya's.

"Yup, the front of them are red, while the back is white. When you come home, you guys can _hop on in _and flip them around," Jiraiya did just that to Nagato's plank, revealing a frog's face on the white side of it, a wolfish grin on the Sannin's face. Konami restrained a giggle at the expression—it was just so cute when he was dressed up like a frog!—as she bit her lip. Jiraiya waited expectantly for questions even as the four orphans looked at him with a dumbfounded mien. The white haired man went on, "Anyway, when you're in our hideout, you turn your plank to the red side. Whenever you're about to leave, _hop on over _and flip ours to the white side first," Jiraiya pointed to the frogs picture when he flipped over Yahiko's plank as a demonstration, "The picture also reminds the others that you might _hop in_ at any moment!" The Legendary Sannin was still smiling with that stupid grin, waiting patiently for the questions or praise at his genius.

Tsunade, in the back of the group, snorted, muttering on about how childish he truly was.

"Come on, seriously?" Yahiko spoke up, his scowl still planted on his face, a single brow lifted with confusion, "I'm trying to cut you slack because you're the Toad Sage and all, but _come on_. The suits should've been enough."

"But why do you want us to do this?" Konan spoke up, head tilted to the side cutely as she was dressed in her frog suit. Even Konami had received one and it was surprisingly warm, even if it made her look maddeningly cute herself.

"The area around us is still unstable," Jiraiya explained, "There's no telling when they'll come and target our hideout," he paused to assess the children's understanding before continuing, "We're at our most vulnerable when we're here, the more obvious it is that we're living here, the easier it is for them to mount an attack."

"So, if a plank is red but that person isn't here, it means that they could've been captured by the enemy," Konan summarized.

"And if it's white, but that person is in their room, then it means it could be an enemy that's transformed their appearance," Konami added, nodding.

"This way, we know right away when something's wrong," Konan ended, smiling with understanding.

"Very observant, girls. Unlike _Yahiko_," Jiraiya teased.

Yahiko sputtered, "I figured it out too! Kind of…" He trailed off sheepishly.

"This is our own personal code for all six of us, so that we can all be aware of the other's statuses. You can never let down your guards, even when you're here, you understand?" A chorus of nods all around before Jiraiya continued, "Now, I've prepared a hidden room and emergency escape route, just in case," he explained to them, lifting up a floorboard. "You'll be able to get away through here if something ever happens. Hmm, oh yeah, the plank on the back wall is Tsunade and mine," he pointed to it, after having placed down the floorboard, and the four orphans turned to look.

It was as he said.

"Ahh, now, it's time for our 'water-off-a-frog's-back' training! We will become like true frogs and face the elements along with everything else, to learn how to endure anything without moving a muscle!"

Yahiko hopped up from hit sitting position, "Hell yeah!" He then took off out to the side door, yelling back, "C'mon guys, let's get going!"

The remaining kids looked to the Hop-In planks, Nagato speaking up first, "I'm not sure Yahiko understood… Sensei flipped it for him this time, but…"

Konan just giggled as she turned her plank over.

Yahiko turned to gaze through the open door, grinning, "I'm gonna get stronger, and stronger until I can turn this country around!

Konan and Nagato stared after him quietly before they looked to each other with similar smiles as they followed after. Konami couldn't help but laugh when Jiraiya pointed an accusatory finger at the orange haired kid.

Yahiko gave a grin then, similar to Jiraiya's usual mischievous and slightly pervy one, while he waited to be scolded.

"Turn your damn Hop-In card around before you start worrying about the country!"

"You're just embarrassed your student has picked up your disgusting smirk," Tsunade remarked casually, a hand at Konami's shoulder.

Jiraiya's face flamed at having been caught, allowing the three kids to get a head start to their training grounds, "That's not it!"

"Yeah, yeah," Tsunade's voice was dry as she beckoned Konami back into the warmth of the kitchen, "How about we get started on dinner then?"

The young girl nodded, absent-minded as she simply said, "This is what's called happiness, isn't it?"

"I'd say so."

It was hard to imagine a different feeling being called that word, but nevertheless, the boring days passed her by easily after that.

Just to keep her brain awake, Konami had taken to drawing, when writing because too mind-numbing to keep up.

She was horribly _bad_ when she first started out, creating inside jokes with herself over the time it took for her work to actually be _presentable_. There was still a picture of what should have been a crab, looking just like a bear, strangely enough, hidden deeply within stacks of paper.

Before long, however, she began to paint her drawings, Tsunade having been able to find the dye at the market, if only a bit too pricey in Ame's current economy. Because of that, Konami treasured each and every drop of it. She only wanted to do one thing with it anyway. With the chance to do so, the young girl decided to draw and paint something she had greatly longed to see, being cramped up in the house on most days.

With blues, whites, reds, oranges, and greys, Konami came to create an entire expansive sky in the bedroom, tacking it all across the room in a single afternoon that her family had all been out. It kept her entertained and excited to see their reactions. At the current point in time, she still only had a single thing to paint over, one that demanded excessive use of the brighter colors—part of the sun's rays.

"For you, I'd paint the sky," Konami murmured, thinking of her three most precious people. She then giggled at how dramatic sounded, brush strokes echoing in the silent room.

When it was all finished and up, hanging on the wall, she gazed at it with wide eyes, a small smile playing on her lips.

The sky, despite it being artificial, felt real, so much so that it almost felt as if sunlight was streaming in through the window, despite the persistent pattering of rain. Her laughter echoed into the room, as they slowly turned into sobs.

She didn't feel sad, that wasn't the case for the sudden tears.

Konami merely _ached_ with the desire to feel the sun again.

But what about the stars?

She needed to recreate that too. After all, night was just as important.

Konami set to work, using up the rest of the paint and paper as she made the picture of a nighttime sky. Before long, the walls and her body were covered in paint and paper, making her feel giddy and light with her new creation.

They, her family, still hadn't arrived home yet, cueing a game of sorts as she played with the images. She rolled around on the pressed together futons and blankets, making a mess of them all. Her laughter rang throughout her fictional world, her own private sanctuary. She sobered up mere moments later when she abruptly stood up to take a bath. Their chakra signatures were coming close to the house, it felt like.

She danced to the bathroom, spinning slightly on her toes as her loose hair swayed around her shoulders. In her childish fun, she managed to pull off a clumsy pirouette, pivoting off her left foot as she twirled her way to the door of the restroom.

Her laughter followed her into the echoing room while she prepared a bath for herself. It had been a long time since she had had this much fun, especially alone.

With a small smile, she soaked in the water while feeling for the signatures of her family's chakra. When they were nearing, Konami rushed through her bath and getting dressed and was ready just as she could hear Yahiko's boisterous voice entering the hideout.

"Welcome home," she cheered with a grin as she saw them, Jiraiya coming in with a huge fish.

"You seem chipper," Tsunade noted.

"I painted the sky," Konami announced, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet. In her happiness, she ignored the pain in her heart just as she pushed off the dizziness with pure determination.

"I want to see," Nagato murmured, smiling down at her in his cute frog suit.

"Ah, it must be pretty," Konan added, thoughtfully.

"Let's strip these stupid things off," Yahiko suggested, "and then go take a look."

"It's in the bedroom," Konami informed them as she bounced off to the sink to get a glass of water.

"She's almost like…" Jiraiya began before trailing off.

"A real kid," Tsunade finished for him but Konami paid no mind to it. She was just as concerned over her new found personality. She hadn't known it was possible for her to be this happy—it made her feel impossibly light.

Minutes later, once everyone had changed out of the frog suits and warmed up, they all headed to the bedroom of the four orphans. Konami slid open the door slowly, nervously.

Her artwork was met with a round of gasps.

"It looks…real," Tsunade murmured then, "Like back in Konoha."

Konami merely studied her work with a frown. She could still see many areas to improve on.

"It looks like we have a real artist in our little hideout," Jiraiya noted, "It's a shame that it's all on simple paper."

"We should get one of those easel things," Konan managed to get out, her eyes wide and bright, "This is seriously the prettiest thing I've ever seen."

"If it's not too expensive," Konami allowed, biting her lip.

"This sky," Yahiko started with, turning to the youngest girl with a bright, shining grin, "This sky will be our goal. We'll make Ame look like this one day."

Why couldn't she get this silly look off her face?

After that, things passed by much quicker while Konami spent the lazy days drawing, painting, or writing. She did a lot of thinking, and general planning for what was to come but her health wasn't looking to be getting any better. By the looks of it, she was to never be a shinobi. If anything, she could only amount to a genin status, but that couldn't help out much in the scheme of things. No, she needed to find a different way to help them out because she wasn't much for physically doing so. Because of this, she began to work on her sensing abilities. She probably should've asked Tsunade or Jiraiya for help doing so, but Konami didn't like bugging them when they had other things to worry about. However, for the most part, she was progressing smoothly, having been able to extend her range far enough to reach the village they frequented for supplies. She spent most of her time, after that, memorizing the chakra signatures, noting which the common signatures and which were just mere passersby. When she went into the market, only for the times she was allowed, she did her best to travel over the village to match faces to the chakra.

Over time, she was aware of all the activity going on in the entire town. She came to know the difference of shinobi, kunoichi, and mere civilian. Her senses had been growing so precise that Konami could now discern that very fact in mere seconds, memorizing the former and tending to ignore the latter. She was even able to find the ones attempting to mask their presence, making it almost a game to her. It was like shinobi peek-a-boo, where she would focus on the masked chakra and follow them, waiting for them to slip up and reveal themselves. It was a nice way to pass the time, she supposed.

Konami was happy, this way.

Yet, there did come a time, at the end of the first year spent together, that something came around to disrupt that happiness.

* * *

**Child of a Frog is a Frog - ****蛙の子は蛙**

* * *

"I have to leave," Tsunade said to everyone as if she were simply announcing the weather, packed and ready to disappear from their lives, "I recently received a letter from the Hokage with news that one of my dear friends has died in battle."

The air in the room had stilled.

Jiraiya was the first one to speak up, eyes dark, "Is it Dan?"

Tsunade wordlessly nodded, "His niece…"

"We'll miss you," Konami spoke quietly, clutching tiny fists to her drab dress, "I'll miss you." She was trying her best not to cry, coming to bite her lip.

The older woman came forward, hand outstretched as she rested a palm on top of the silken azure hair, "I love you brats."

Those mere simple words made the four orphans erupt in a chorus of sobs. With newly tear streaked cheeks and runny noses, they all converged on to Tsunade, coming to clutch desperately at her clothes and her thighs.

"We love you too!" Yahiko informed her with a half-sob, half-shout.

"You brats," Tsunade came to say, screwing with their hair and wiping away the tears that continued to spill over, "You guys are going to make me cry."

"That would be a first," Jiraiya said from a little bit away.

"Shut your trap, idiot," the Sannin snapped, gingerly fixing the orphans hair before gently pushing them away to kneel to eye-level with them, "I'll come back in a year or two, okay? It won't be permanent but I'll be back to visit at least once so don't be so sad." Her amber eyes reddened with unshed tears yet she persisted nonetheless, "You brats just need to learn how to be patient. When I come back, I expect you all to be shinobi worthy of being named the Saviors of Ame, you hear? Konami? I expect you to keep them out of trouble."

"Yes," came the orphans blubbered out response.

Tsunade wrapped them in a hug then, the feeling of something warm and real snaking its way through Konami's body. For some reason, it only made her want to cry more.

The embrace was over too quickly, Tsunade gone too fast.

* * *

**Child of a Frog is a Frog - ****蛙の子は蛙**

* * *

"I'm done," Nagato informed her softly, watching as she pulled her shirt over her chest. It had been weird, at first, when the red-head had taken over her treatment. He was just as good as Tsunade had been but it was still a strange feeling being shirtless around a boy. She had an entire separate life that had preached against skin-ship. It almost felt like she was breaking some rules even if their feelings for each other were purely platonic. What an odd thought.

She was merely seven, him being eight (going on nine), so it wasn't as if that was a current problem. She wondered what it would be like in the future, when she grew breasts, filled out, and went through a monthly period. There was also the hormones to worry about. So maybe, one day, she would stop looking to Nagato like a brother of sorts and he would turn into a love interest. Konami couldn't resist a wince at the thought. That wouldn't happen, she knew with certainty. Distantly, she was concerned over why Konan was able to fall in love with Yahiko. According to her books, they had been mutually in love, but then, her texts could always be wrong. Konami made a mental note to keep an eye on the two.

"Thank you, Nagato."

"Hn," he looked like he had something more to say.

The azure-haired girl nudged him, an inquisitive expression coating her face.

"I'm developing a jutsu for you. I don't want you to get your hopes up but…"

"Go on?"

"Tsunade-sensei had told me that the reason she couldn't operate on you was for two reasons. The first being that it's so close to your heart. She wouldn't be able to see if she's piercing a valve or anything similar to that when she's working on the coils. The other thing was that, well, aside from one groups methods of working on the coils and the tenketsu points themselves, there isn't a treatment for the common iryo-nin to learn. She mentioned, before she left, that she would be checking with that clan to see if they could help you out. But, because I have these eyes and knowledge of iryo-ninjutsu, I have been working on something that could help repair them."

Konami smiled at him as she enveloped the boy into her arms, "Thank you so much, Nagato. You know what? I wouldn't mind if it didn't work, I'm just so glad that I have you." She nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck, coming to hold onto him tightly. He held her back, with just as much warmth.

"I don't know how else I could repay you, Konami," Nagato whispered softly in her ear, "You've done so much for me."

"Just be by my side," she blankly ordered of him, wrangling a chuckle from him. It echoed in her ears before she continued, "You're the hope for the future, along with Yahiko and my sister. This means that you can't die before your dreams come true, do you understand?"

"You can't die either, Konami."

"Don't worry so much, I'm not like glass. I won't break on you."

"You better not."

Over the days, weeks, months that passed by, the three orphans in training began to grow powerful, each a prodigy in their own right. Konan had already come to develop her paper-ninjutsu, Yahiko expressing his desire to learn kenjutsu and water-based techniques. They were both formidable in their own right but Nagato topped them both, easily being able to accomplish great feats as if it were like breathing. He still spent most of his time learning iryo-ninjutsu from books but that didn't stop him from dabbling in all the jutsu he could get his hands on or mastering it two to three days later. Konami herself had worked on extending her range and senses further. Her hope was to one day be able to encompass Ame, in its entirety, under her watch—although that seemed quite a bit far off from what she was capable of.

"Guys," Konan's voice interjected, causing Konami to pull away from Nagato to look up to her sister, "Dinner is ready."

The three headed over to the table, the young girl coming to latch onto her sister's sleeve as they sat down. It was an odd thing she'd developed over time—perpetually being stuck to someone, leaching off their warmth and being assured of their safety. She'd even go as far as to sit on Jiraiya's lap when he was writing, reading a book quietly. When it came to Yahiko, she'd hang off his back like a monkey, dozing off like it was an afternoon nap. She supposed that was one of the causes as to why her eyes drooped in such a way, becoming heavy-lidded in their shape.

They were eating fish again, grilled as usual with a side of rice and tea.

"Thank you for the food," they all chorused, picking up their chopsticks in near synchronicity.

"Tomorrow, I'll start you on learning this water jutsu," Jiraiya was saying to Yahiko, who bounced happily at where he sat, eating.

"Take that, Nagato, I'm already going to start on a new jutsu tomorrow," the orange haired boy said, grinning at the boy who just smiled on with a good-natured air.

Konan just giggled, "I'd say Nagato still has a head start on you, it's like you're trying to have a hopeless competition with him."

"Whatever, Konan, you're just jealous that we're leaving you behind in the mud."

She snorted, "I'm creating my own techniques and I'm somehow being left behind?"

"My sister is the coolest," Konami said confidently.

"I've been betrayed!" Yahiko mimed something stabbing into his chest as he gave her a pained expression, "What happened to me being your awesome big brother?"

"My sister is the coolest," Konami couldn't help but repeat after taking another bite of rice with a deadpanning mien.

"She speaks only the truth," Konan beamed, stroking her little sister's hair as she leaned into the touch.

Nagato snorted from his place at the table while Jiraiya released a hearty laugh.

Yahiko just sputtered, "Just a while ago, she was calling _me_ the coolest."

Konami considered this, "Yahiko can be awesome, Konan is cool, and Nagato is…amazing?" She thought back on what Nagato meant for her but found that he was more an object of affection than anything else. Like a cute puppy. She inwardly winced. He probably wouldn't appreciate that line of thought.

"Then you can be the cute one," Nagato said, smiling at her with a bright expression.

Konami distantly wondered why it didn't feel bad to be called such an adjective when it came from him. In fact, she was fairly certain she liked the pooling warmth that spread out her entire body at having been given such a compliment.

Eh, it would probably be the same if Konan and Yahiko called her cute.

"Let me be the lazy one," Konami simply joked, smiling back lightly.

* * *

**Child of a Frog is a Frog - ****蛙の子は蛙**

* * *

"Ah," Konami nodded with understanding, "So, that's how you can tell when food has gone spoiled or not."

"I'm surprised your parents didn't already teach you," Chiyo, the fruit stand owner, commented, "They looked like the smart type."

Konami blinked, cocking her head in thought, "Parents? Oh, um, they're just…older cousins. Hana, the woman, left a few months ago," and yet it still hurt to think about her, "on business."

"Ah, so that's how it is," Chiyo hadn't batted eye at the forced lies, instead, giving a kind smile, "I had been wondering why we haven't been seeing her around. Although, your sibling's features are strange. The boys."

Konami blinked, "The boys? Nagato and Yahiko are both adopted," it was weird having to lie, but it was necessary. Jiraiya couldn't be tracked down by any one of the enemies, especially when the war was still only barely waning out. He still had many, many foes in Ame, thus the four of them had been instructed to keep up a single façade, the one she was spouting off to the elderly woman currently, "Our parents died during one of the skirmishes, so my cousin is taking care of us until we can fend for ourselves. So…he'll be leaving in a few years too."

"Oh my," Chiyo gave a pained smile, "goodbyes are never fun, are they? You never know when you might see that person ever again, or if fate will have consumed them by now," She was speaking with bigger words than Konami was used to, cuing a blink from her part, but she readily gave a nod.

"Did you lose someone then?"

"Yes…" her words were spoken softly, "a grandchild. He should just be a little bit older than you. He was taken in the night about a year ago," Chiyo's warm eyes were now dark, her hands visibly shaking, "because he was special."

That piqued Konami's interest, albeit it was only a passing intrigue—there wasn't a lot of things to do around Ame, save for what she was quickly growing bored of. It seemed as if her curiosity was gaining the upper hand in terms of what she valued in life. Perhaps it was the fact that she knew very little of the world, despite her foreknowledge, and she could barely quench her thirst as it was. Jiraiya often found himself a victim to her unanswered musings.

"What's his name?"

A sad smile, "Shuyin—that was, _is_ his name."

Konami nodded, "I'll keep an eye out for him then," she murmured quietly.

That only prompted a small chuckle, "It's been too long, I don't believe he'll be coming back anytime soon, but if there ever was a chance…"

"Chiyo," Konami gazed up at her with a smile, reaching out a hand to the elderly woman as it rested over her palm, "san…I think that good things happen, really." If they didn't, she wouldn't be alive—a lesson she would carry for the rest of her life.

"I suppose it is nice to have hope," the woman murmured softly before visibly brightening as she picked up a brightly colored red apple, "Here, free of charge."

The young girl blinked, a gracious smile coming to her face, "Ah, thank you!"

It felt nice, for a change, that she would be handed something, instead of her stealing it.

"Now, go on, don't want to worry your loved ones."

She released a small giggle in reply, smiling, "Right!"

She turned away then and began her journey to home, bags of groceries in one hand, and an apple as red as blood in the other.

With a small laugh to herself, enjoying the quite patter of the rain as it hit the umbrella tilted over her shoulder, she walked merrily, even going to the point of skipping and splashing in the mud on her way. It had been her job lately, to obtain the groceries as a way for her to exercise her deteriorating body. At first she hadn't been allowed to leave alone, as she was usually accompanied by Nagato or Konan, but then she was slowly able to be on her own after becoming familiar with the usual market goers. It was a nice thing, to be able to learn of others and their walks of life.

It was also helpful to match faces with signatures as she became able to truly know the comings and goings of the tiny village. She couldn't care less about the villagers, which might have seemed odd, but she had come to terms with her inability to form emotional attachments for others that hadn't proven to be worthy of her attention. Chiyo was one of the few that had managed to be interesting enough to speak with more than necessary. She didn't Konami like a child, instead, she was treated as if she could understand the complicated adult stuff. She didn't though, not really. Chiyo tended to use strange words that Konami hadn't ever heard of. It had gotten to the point that she had the sneaking suspicion that Chiyo wasn't just a mere fruit stand owner—they wouldn't possibly have to be so smart.

Nevertheless, there were others besides the older woman that piqued her interest. Like Sorato, a kind older boy who ran messages throughout the town for fees. Apparently he was a really fast runner, which was odd. He acted so _slow_ around her, like he was never in any rush. She couldn't say if she really liked him, it was just that the difference in his actions and the way he carried himself astounded her enough to get on her list. She often spotted him as she left the tiny market and this time was no different.

She was almost eager to approach him—the first time she had actually done it—but laid back just enough to assess his chakra signature. It, as usual, was a vibrant one, which also added to her confusion. Maybe he was just simply tired all the time from running so much? But the signature wouldn't match with it. Often times, signatures reflected the person's personality and health. Konami's own signature was a muted, sort of dreary one, compared to her precious family. They all had bright ones, especially Nagato.

"Sorato," she abruptly spoke up, creeping up on the darker skinned boy as he leaned over the side, as if he were gazing at someone from afar. He jumped at her voice, surprising her. She hadn't tried to be quiet, but she supposed that might have actually come from living with shinobi—they never made a sound. It was one of the things Konami was especially overtly conscious of. She was the loud one now, the one you always knew was entering the room.

"Ah! Konami," he gave a grin as he indulged her in her strange distaste for honorifics, "how ya been?"

"What were you looking at?" Konami consciously avoided the question, coming to rest a tiny hand on a lock of loose hair. She rubbed at it absent mindedly, gazing up at him with a hooded expression. Small talk made her feel off, and she didn't like that sort of thing much either.

He seemed to brighten up at the question as he gave a grin and pointed at a pair of unfamiliars, men who looked like they were trying too hard to act like they were civilians. She nearly face palmed at their bad form as she shook her head sharply.

"Who are they?"

"Apparently they came to scout me to be a shinobi after having heard about me."

Her eyes instantly came to be pinched as she felt a nearly ferocious feeling of protectiveness for Sorato. It was largely unexpected to be felt but it made minuscule sense to her. She didn't _trust_ the government run by Hanzo as far as she could toss him and well, the lazy, fast running contradiction was kind of her first friend being as Nagato or Yahiko didn't count—they were her brothers after all. She peered up at him then, scrutinizing over the boy, wondering if he thought something similar of her. Were they friends?

Alarmed by the sudden urge to ask, she gave her head a shake as she mumbled out softly, "You going to accept their offer?"

"Hell no," was his instant reply, "I'm not setting a foot into _that_ death trap."

There was still something off about it though. Why had he been watching in the first place if he intended to never be involved?

"But…there's money involved, isn't there?" By way of his face draining of color, she was right. He sighed, and leaned down to look at her straight on, his gray eyes looking into her own with a slightly forced smile. He reached out his hands, resting them on her shoulders helplessly.

"You really are the observant type, and unrelenting at that! Honestly, you'd be a better ninja than I'd ever be..."

She swallowed thickly at his words, frowning but before he could pick up on it, she just spoke up, "I think you're fine the way you are. I like Sorato."

With raised black brows, his cheeks seemed to flush, his dark yet pale skin becoming more colorful in the dreary atmosphere, "That almost sounded like a love confession."

Konami blinked, surprised but found herself laughing at the mere mention of it. He was _ten_, of all things, and she was merely seven. An entire three ages apart was quite the stretch in a country always on the verge of death. Besides, she really only liked him because of the puzzle game he presented to her…

"How about this then," Konami murmured with a bright smile, "if you happen to like me in ten years, I'll be yours." Now what were those cliché words she had always heard spoken in the anime her past life liked to watch? "I'll grow up to be Sorato's bride!" It was like a joke to her, which might have been rude to him. But she knew that in the span of ten years, she'd be dead. It was kind of nice to set goals like that.

Sorato smiled at her then as he nodded, "Alright then, but I won't take you unless you really love me too."

Hmm, she wondered if she were even capable of the type he spoke of.

"Okay," she promised, palm suddenly feeling heavy with the bright red apple as her chest suddenly began to ache.

There was one thing she hadn't been considering after all this time since she had killed a man and since they had tracked down the Sannin. Of course, it wasn't that obvious even then.

But it would be soon.

It was to be painfully clear to her soon that she wasn't the Konami of a year ago.

She was changing.

Oblivious to it all, Konami just gave a small smile as she hefted the bag of groceries, "Well, I should be going. Be careful, Sorato."

* * *

**Child of a Frog is a Frog - ****蛙の子は蛙**

* * *

On her way to the market the next day—having underestimated the stomachs of growing shinobi—she absentmindedly folded paper, having mastered keeping an umbrella propped up on her shoulder as it kept balanced by her elbow. To add to her good mood, she was even humming a long, lost tune, somewhat sad and desperate sounding, but she recalled it being a favorite of hers. On the chorus, she even began to make up lyrics as she went on her way, secure in her sensing abilities to know when trouble was expected.

Yet, she wasn't exactly ready for what occurred next.

Behind her, as she passed by the mysterious lump on the side of the road, there was a groan, a _very_ human groan. She had just assumed the lump was just a dead animal or something, nothing to be concerned over but that was a noise she had grown accustomed to. The person was _hungry_, most likely starving.

Konami paused in her singing, and felt the dog she had been making slip out of her fingers. She was reminded of Nagato, back when she had first found him laying on the side of the road.

Like that, as the image flashed before her eyes, Konami rushed to the person's side, looking on earnestly. It was such a weird, unexpected thing. She quite literally hadn't felt a signature coming from the small form even as it moved, the black cloak covering him opening up to reveal a boy with ravenous eyes. The moment he was revealed to look nothing like Nagato or anybody else in her family, she stood up, uninterested.

Or, it was more like she was trying to be aloof.

But the question nagged at her: Why didn't he have a signature?

She debated turning back but before the decision could be hers, she was leapt upon, her shoulder suddenly becoming a replacement chew toy as the kid tackled her down. She felt the air in her fly out as she gasped in an attempt to regain it. Her head felt suddenly very light and funny.

"Oh, you not food. Where food?"

Even with her hazy mind and useless body, she registered the uneducated words spoken and felt her hand inching for an opening in her jacket. The child seemed to understand where Konami's actions were going as they searched her until they finally obtained the uneaten red apple from yesterday. She had actually been saving it for tonight's dinner, but that looked unlikely now as she watched an androgynous child hungrily bite into it.

"Slow down," she whispered out even when it was intended to be a chiding, "Savor it." The apple deserved that much after all.

"Matter not."

She groaned to herself, amazed at how sharply the kid had said it.

She vaguely wondered why she was helping the kid out, but the thought quickly vanished as she quite literally could not think straight. Her eyes were still spinning and she wanted the world to stop that tilt.

"Ryuu hit too hard?"

Konami managed a nod, even as she felt the nausea build up from that as the realm around her shook.

"Ryuu, come back soon."

_Great_, she couldn't help but think, _I'm left defenseless_.

In fact, what chilled her to the bone, was the fact that she couldn't sense anything anymore. It felt, this being not even a bit theatric, like she had lost her eyesight, blind to the word. It wasn't helping any that her dizziness refused to dissipate.

Konami groaned and tried to force her way to a sitting position. It was a failed mission in the end, as she laid there in the pouring rain and waited for the boy to return.

He came, minutes—which had felt like hours—later, with an older man in tow. At least, it looked like an old man. Konami really couldn't be certain with the way her head was still spinning. She was afraid to move knowing that something _was not right_. It wasn't just her illness or her weak body. There was another reason for why her body was so slow to recover such a fall.

"What had I told you, Ryuu?"

"No touch others, Ryuu heard," the barbaric boy replied with, gazing down at Konami as she began to convulse uncontrollably. She felt the breakfast she had that morning empty out before her as she retched quite openly.

"It gets messy when you do," the man said, sighing, "Oh well, Ryuu, get on your gloves, we'll be taking this one back to our hideout."

"She live?"

"If we act quickly."

The moment they began to pick her up and move, the very action of her body moving when it was in such disarray, sent her into shock as her body seized. Mere moments later, she was sent into a world of black as her consciousness faded away.

* * *

**Child of a Frog is a Frog - ****蛙の子は蛙 ****\- End**

* * *

**Unedited – Beta Wanted**

* * *

**Next On Monopoly: After Rain Comes Fair Weather**

* * *

_I'm not updating the next chapter after all, being as I still have to rewrite it. There's little hope for my tablet now, so be patient as I get things written once more. That being said, this was a rewrite of what had already been written and was rushed. The new update date is a _loose_ one so that I have time to keep what quality I have where it should be._

**_VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:_**

_In regards to the accusations of my stealing the plot of _In This Choice_ by_ RoyalBluexCherryPink. _First of all, being accused of that is a very _serious_ matter, and one I don't take lightly. I work hard in my writing and I was honestly stunned when I woke up to those reviews and the PM from the author on my story. I don't think I should have to say this but when you accuse someone of a crime, please give them the benefit of the doubt and _ask questions_. I had never even heard of that story until today which makes it even more upsetting on my part. This is quite distressing for everyone involved, I'm sure and I hope the matter is sorted out between the author and I properly. If the issue does get out of hand, I will take down the story. Need I remind you that I take accusations of plagiarism serious? Although, it doesn't look like that will be happening, so I wouldn't really worry._

_**EDIT:** Holy crap, I really need to clarify. The _author_ isn't the problem. She actually apologized for her reviewer's actions. Which is why I was saying that there wasn't really a chance of the story being taken down happening. But there's the possibility, as there always is, that things could get serious, even if the problem isn't between the authors. So, um, please don't attack that author. She really doesn't need that. Sorry for not being clear before!_

_Next update: January 30__th__ \- loose_


	4. After Rain Comes Fair Weather

**Monopoly - ****独占**

* * *

_**4**_

* * *

Ryuu was pretty sure the girl before him was going to die. When he had bitten her before, she had tasted bad, like her body wasn't too good or something. Which meant, duh, this girl didn't stand a chance against his chakra.

He did kind of feel bad though. She had given him food, after all.

"We help?" Ryuu thought to say, looking up at his master, the only human he would ever trust in this world. His master was full of eccentricities though, the type that made it hard to understand sometimes.

"Yes, we're going to help. This is where I teach you a new lesson, Ryuu," the older man gave a smile as he patted the young boy's head.

"Lesson?" This was one of the times where the small kid just couldn't comprehend what was being said. Even if he was eight, from what his master could assume, Ryuu hadn't started speaking until a year ago when the master had found him in his den. At least that's what he had been told his old home was called. Now he slept in a bed with the master close by.

"Yes, now as I saw before, you ended up taking an apple from her," the older man spoke evenly, a kind smile upon his weathered face as he worked on the blue haired girl, who struggled to breath. With little reserve, a blue chakra began to form around his fingers, enchanting Ryuu as he couldn't look away. His master set to cutting the girl open. The young boy had to look away—he never really had liked looking at human's insides.

"Ryuu hunger," he mumbled, explaining quietly.

"You should have come to me then," the master said chiddingly, sending a chill through the young boy's body as he panicked.

He turned to face the doctor, earnestly, "Busy!"

"You know that I make time for you, no matter what."

It took a moment for the entire sentence to sink in, but when it did, he just looked down at his feet, ashamed.

"Will this incident happen again, Ryuu?"

"No," his voice was tiny now as he turned away from the procedure the doctor was working on, focusing his attention to his books on the shelf. His master was a special man, Ryuu had been told, and he wasn't to be discovered just like Ryuu couldn't be either. They both had the thing called kekkei genkai, if the young boy recalled properly. It was all explained in his book, a pile of clipped papers detailing everything the master had discovered of the young boy's ability. Ryuu still didn't understand everything because, well, he couldn't exactly read. But he was working on that, he just needed time.

He made motions to pick up the book but was stopped by the master's voice.

"Good, now before you go, I want you to look at this young girl."

He readily obeyed, keeping his eyes trained on his victim's face and nowhere near her chest. He didn't like the insides of human's, it felt wrong to look at. It was a strange thing too, because Ryuu wasn't exactly squeamish—he was the one to gut the fishes and rabbits they caught, after all.

"What do you see?"

"Girl, pretty," at least, Ryuu thought she was pretty, it was kind of hard to decide when she looked so…dead, "small." Not as small as he was, but still. She was the only human he had ever met that was so delicately tiny in the way she was.

"What do you feel?"

Ryuu blinked, but answered honestly, "sorry."

The doctor nodded, looking pleased as he smiled, "This girl will live, so you can tell her that when she wakes up. It will take a while though, I have more work to do by the look of it."

"Leave?"

"Yes, why don't you go get a snack from the cupboard?"

Ryuu nodded, excited as he left the doctor to his work. Food was his favorite. There was nothing better than the feeling of fullness, after all.

Still, he was kind of worried too. He wondered if it was going to be like one of those other operations when his master would come out looking older than before.

* * *

**After Rain Comes Fair Weather**

* * *

Konami woke up feeling better than she had before, which confused her and only sent alarms to her brain as her eyes snapped open. She immediately had to squint as bright lights nearly blinded her.

"You're awake," an aged voice said to her, wrangling a tiny gasp as she turned her body to face the man. There was a strange pull on her chest, causing her to look down. She stared, in mute amazement as she noted that she had a long straight cut down her chest that hadn't been there before. Her chest had been stitched up and everything but that didn't really explain why her heart felt lighter than it had in a long time. Actually…what was this? Her sensing abilities were back and completely…she could sense chakra signatures in places she had never known existed. As if her range had doubled in the night.

She needed answers.

"What's going on?"

The old man just laughed, eyes bright with kindness. They were purple, which was strange but…nice. His white hair was peppered with black even as she had the odd sense that it hadn't been like that before, assuming that this man was the same one as before she passed out.

"Can you answer me?" Konami prompted when the silence prevailed.

"Well, first, why don't you tell me your name?"

She bit her lip, taking in her options. None of them were good. With a sigh, she complied, honestly telling the man her name.

"What's yours?"

"I am Taka."

"Taka…alright then. Taka, please tell me what changes you've done to my body and _how_."

He lifted a brow in surprise, "So you noticed a difference in your health, that's good."

Konami was silent, waiting for him to answer her properly.

Taka smiled at her gently as he continued, "I suppose I can share. I saw that you had a disease in your system so I destroyed it."

"Des…Destroyed it!?" Konami had never raised her voice so quickly and so loudly before in her entire life, but this was _news_ to her. To add to it, he said _saw_, feeling strange to her. She brought a hand to her chest, numb from the pain and ran a finger across one of her stitches, "Gone?"

"It's gone, although that ruptured coil is still left as it was. There was little I could do for that now. I did, however, open up some passageways, so maybe that sensing ability could be put to better use."

"How do you know these things?" Konami's voice shook, and she felt something she had _never _felt before: fear. This was unlike her apprehension with heights—she had overcome it, after all—and it didn't sit well with her. It wasn't easy to get her riled up, but something like this was…not normal, "What are you? What do you want with me?"

"Ah! I don't mean to frighten you," Taka looked genuinely upset, apologetic even, as he reached a hand slowly out. She made to no actions to pull back as the old man touched her hair, stroking it. That was...creepy. But she had a feeling it was meant to be purely comforting.

"Explain please," Konami murmured helplessly, feeling out of sorts when her past life was of no use. It was kind of alarming, to finally notice how much dependency she had on that knowledge. Now she had nothing to guide her, nothing to correct her and that was, suffice to say, disorientating.

"I don't know how much you know about shinobi clans…"

"You have a kekkei genkai?" Konami wasted no time in saying it, not even sure of it, but it was a start.

"Precisely, but mine is quite rare, and often times seen as useless."

"What is it?"

"I am able to read the history of anybody I come into contact with."

"But there's more to it," Konami was certain of this, "You're older than the first time I saw you."

"Perceptive…," Taka sighed, before nodding, "Yes, there's more to it. I am able to repair injuries or illnesses of any kind for the price of my lifespan. I may not look it, but I'm actually twenty-three."

Konami froze, letting that sink as she swallowed thickly, "Then that means you used your life for me…" That didn't sit too well.

"Well, it was my Ryuu's fault for almost killing you, I had to do something… Consider my getting rid of that illness of yours as a gift."

"No, let me do something. I need to pay you back," Konami sat up, earnest as she reached a hand out to grip his palm, "You don't understand…I…that disease has done a lot of damage in my life and you taking that way…it means so much, especially because your life is now shorter…" She felt ill, thinking that Taka could die any second now because of her.

Taka looked thoughtful before smiling once more, "How about, as payment, you come to visit Ryuu every day from now on?"

"Ryuu…?" Konami couldn't help but blink, "Alright but…could you tell me what he had done to me?"

The older man's face turned serious, his expression becoming dark as he went on to tell her the truth of the matter.

"His chakra eats at the chakra and flesh, if it comes in contact with others. Sadly, his chakra is so potent that it leeches out through his skin. It seems because he had bitten you, his chakra had entered through your bloodstream. You would have died if I hadn't had stepped in."

"Oh," that sounded actually very sad. Ryuu hadn't really come off as loner type of kid. He had actually felt quite sociable with the way he had so readily asked for food. He sure was weird though and probably very used to death. Her interest, suffice to say, was piqued.

"I'm not sure if you care but…I think you should know how long you've been asleep."

"How long?" Konami's blood ran cold, words finally hitting home."

"Two days."

"Two days!?" For _years_ she had been with her family and not even once had she spent a day away from them, let alone _two_. They must be going mad, looking for her. Immediately she went to her senses, pinpointing her family members easily as she felt the spikes and the fluctuation of each of them. Konami was amazed to find that she could even tell how low on reserves Yahiko was at. She hadn't ever been able to do that at such a distance. So not only her range had been extended, her perception had also gotten better, "I…I need to leave. Thank you, Taka, I'll be back when I can!"

"Wait, here, a map," the older man handed her a piece of paper, "Memorize it, and burn it. I don't think I need to tell you how dangerous it is for, not only you, but for Ryuu and me, that you know our location. We took you to our secondary hideout, but here's the directions to our primary."

Oh yeah, if anyone like Hanzo found them, they'd be used, especially Ryuu, "Why would you give me this information then?" It wasn't as if she had any special feelings of loyalty to them, all she had to keep an interest of staying quiet was her intrigue and the fact that she was indebted. However, it was enough for her.

"You, I should think, are quite the interesting character to know."

Konami bit her lip in thought, gazing down at the map she had taken, "I have to tell my family, but I'll keep quiet about your abilities. That's all I can do, I won't be lying to them."

Taka looked uncertain but nodded nonetheless as he forced a smile, "We'll see you soon then."

* * *

**After Rain Comes Fair Weather**

* * *

Konami gingerly approached Nagato first, thinking he would be the lesser of evils. How wrong she turned out to be.

"Kona-! Kona-! Konami!"

The young girl visibly flinched as she was wrapped up into the tightest hug she had ever been in, feeling almost as if her blood circulation and airway had been cut off. But she didn't struggle, simply accepting the punishment for what it was.

"You're alive! You're alive!" Nagato was crying by now, pulling back slightly—much to her liking—and she took in his blubbering expression. His breath hitched, tears falling freely from his eyes as he sobbed, "I was scared, I was scared you were a liar."

_Oh yeah, promises_.

"Nagato—!" Konami yelped as he strengthened the embrace once more, cutting off her circulation once more.

"You can't leave me again, okay? You have to be with me forever, okay?"

Her eyes widened, wondering if this was a love confession, which she knew it couldn't be. They were _kids_, and that kind of thing hardly ever happened at such an age. Whatever, he just wanted a stable person in his life, not people who would leave him. With a small smile, she reached up a hand to cup the back of his head, stroking his soaked hair to sooth him even as he continued to be wracked with sobs.

"Nicknames," she randomly said, quieting the boy fairly quickly as he gazed at her in confusion. She smiled at him easily as the idea settled itself into her skull, "Nicknames that no one but us can call each other."

"Not even Konan and Yahiko?" His lip was still trembling still as he sniffled and hiccupped.

"Not even them," Konami reassured him as she thought, "I'll call you Nagi…what do you want to call me?" She couldn't really think of anything that wasn't weird when it came to her name.

"Nami," he murmured, "I'm the only one who gets to call you Nami."

Konami laughed then, smiling at him with excitement and humor, "That's so weird, we kind of match!"

He smiled then, brightly in all his cute glory as he released a hearty laugh, "Yeah, we do!"

They're laughter slowly puttered out, bringing Konami slowly back to reality as she released a tiny gasp, "We should go find the others."

Nagato nodded, looking hesitant as he gazed at her, questions in his eyes, "Where have you been anyway? You look sort of…different." His brows creased, hand reaching out to touch her stomach, "Different…"

Konami nibbled on her lip but after a few moments she found it would be better if she were _completely_ honest with him. So she was, the words tumbling out like a dam breaking loose. Throughout her story, she watched him for his reaction, taking in the wideness to his eye, the gape of his mouth and the lift to his brows.

"You're illness…gone?"

"You're the only one I'm telling," Konami informed him, "The others can't know because they'll tell Jiraiya."

"Why can't he know?" There was a pout of confusion as he honestly tried to solve the puzzle of her actions.

"Honestly speaking, I don't want to put him in a tough position," she nibbled on her lip, sighing as she explained herself, "He answers to the Hokage, and if I told him of two kekkei genkai users, what do you think he'd have to do?"

"He'd have to tell the Hokage," Nagato's eyes lit up with certainty, "Even if you asked him not to."

"Exactly."

A shared moment of silence enveloped them, lulled away by their thoughts. The only thing to break it was Nagato's soft voice cutting through like a fallen drop of rain into a clear body of water.

"It does feel weird though."

"And wrong."

They nodded together, thinking of what they would have to do and having to withhold information from Yahiko and Konan. Something about it felt _off_—like a betrayal. It made her question how worthy Taka and Ryuu were to gain such a thing from her. They were an inconvenience by now, people she wasn't sure would be interesting enough to be worth the trouble in the end. It wasn't like she was starved for socialism, no, so what could they offer?

_Information._

That's it. They were bound to know something about Hanzo and is actions. It would be good to start collecting information now, knowing there would be an inevitable faceoff between her family and him. With a sudden smirk, she realized then what she could do to protect her family. Konami, she knew from her past life's experiences, could be a good manipulator. She could even possibly use her cute face to tug at those heartstrings and get more than just information. _Connections_, was where the true power lied in, after all.

Of course, she would need to have someone there to protect her, or an older person to be an interceptor so that she wouldn't necessarily have to be there in person. It was too dangerous otherwise, shinobi didn't exactly hesitate with killing children.

Konami blinked sluggishly, mind bringing up the image of just the perfect busybody to enlist in her group. Oh yes, she couldn't wait for him to get back in town.

Nagato swallowed, catching her attention as the smile was wiped immediately off her face.

He wasn't looking at her though, just at the ground, a look of thought on his face, "Why did you tell me though?"

The answer came easily, "You heal me, remember? You would have known something was up either way. So it's best that I don't make you suspicious."

"Oh."

Konami bit her lip, thinking of how and why that response could bring him down so much. Nothing came to mind. She huffed out a sigh, spinning on her heel in the mud, watching her feet as it sent up splotches of mud scattering about. She giggled before turning to Nagato again, "You know, it might also be because I love you the most."

It felt like she was almost being unfaithful to her sister, but the time of their closeness had long sense passed. Sure, they still giggled together over secrets they had over the boys, still folded their paper together, and still kept up with doing each other's hair. But the closeness they had once shared was gone and Konami had ideas on how it happened. Konan was getting older and experiencing different things than she was, limiting things they had in common over. Then there was the fact that she was becoming a full-fledged ninja and growing as a person from it. In comparison, Konami felt stunted and lost. Left behind, even.

Nagato was different though, despite that he was also training to be a shinobi.

He…didn't try to leave her behind, and didn't really gaze at her like she couldn't take care of herself. In fact, he was with her when she needed him. Even now, she had the sneaking suspicion that what had started out as a relationship with him depending on her was quickly changing to reverse. Now, it seemed, more than ever, she needed him and he responded in kind. Nagato was quickly becoming her rock, her idea of warmth, and most importantly, someone to tell secrets to and hide under the covers with, exaggerating ghost stories. He was her best friend, one she knew she could always rely on.

But that, she decided as she watched a goofy grin spread across his face, was to be her little secret.

Just this once.

"Let's find the others and go home."

* * *

**After Rain Comes Fair Weather**

* * *

Meeting up with the others went as expected, bear hugs and tears making a comeback each time Konami met up with another of her split up family. They had all gone off to search for her the moment she didn't come home for lunch and had only met up to discuss their findings. It had seemed like a lot of effort was put into finding her—which felt good, to be cared for so much—even if it was all a little meaningless in the end. Konami even heard that Jiraiya had summoned up his toads to look for her, but it wall proved useless. A lot of it was probably because of Ryuu's chakra eating the trail up before it could be tracked. It was interesting to her, that such a volatile kekkei genkai existed in the first place, but it only made her even more intrigued when she recognized how absolutely handy it would be to have a chakra eater on a squad of trackers.

There were probably a lot more uses Hanzo could put Ryuu up to, but none of them that Konami would allow. He was his to use, as far as she could tell. Taka practically gave her permission with the way he inconvenienced her. She took that as her payment to babysit Ryuu—even if he was _technically_ older than her.

It was hard to get to his hideout every day, and most times she had to take Nagato with her to get the worries of Jiraiya off her back. He meant well, but it was starting to bug her. Sure, she was practically a civilian female child at this point—never minding that this was the truth of the matter—but at the same time, she was quickly becoming one hell of a good sensor. She was a prodigy by Jiraiya's _own_ standards, yet he refused to believe her tall tale of slipping down a muddy ravine and being knocked unconscious for those two days she was missing. Mostly because she wasn't at death's door by the time they reached home.

That…put some strain on her relationship with the man, and his paranoid nature didn't make it any easier. But honestly, she had the best intentions with keeping her mouth shut. It was for him and a little for her… She couldn't bear to see it, if she was honest, him choosing the Hokage over her. At least not when he was such a prominent figure in her life. That was due to her own fault though. She should have thought to put a stop to looking to Jiraiya as a father a long time ago, right at the first time she fell asleep in his lap and he carried her to bed. She would probably never admit to Jiraiya of those feelings—it was embarrassing—not even when he would leave in a year's time. They would be with her forever, despite the distance that now existed.

Konami could feel it, the shift. He didn't let her near him without the other kids present, which hurt more than she'd like to admit, and he was starting to glide over her plank on the wall when he took the time to admire their tiny little family.

She wondered if Taka and Ryuu were _worth_ it. It was a question that plagued her, even as she grew closer to the two.

Of course, it wasn't all bad. She got a lot of information out of them, probably more than Taka intended to dish out.

She often caught him staring at her while she stuck her head in one of his many books. She'd look up in reply, gazing back at him calmly. Taka would snort to himself, one of his small, rare frowns coming his face as he muttered something along the lines of, "one hell of a kunoichi, if you ask me." She wasn't sure if that was meant to be a compliment, but by the way he regarded all ninja, it wasn't much of one.

That was one of the things that bothered her too. It always brought up such annoying thoughts like… What kind of person did she want to be?

All she could come up with when it came to that one was that just merely wanted to be able to care for her family. But by the way Taka sometimes gazed upon her pityingly, or how Jiraiya got jumpy around her, it seemed there was more to it than that. So the question lingered in her mind as she took care of the house's chores, or when she was walking to the market or to Taka's.

When she finally turned eight, it came to her.

Konami had been playing with Ryuu, who was dressed entirely from head to toe in body suit that covered every inch of his body. It was the best solution that Taka could think of as Ryuu's abilities strengthened over time but it was one that bothered Taka more than Konami thought it should have. If it worked, it worked. Ryuu hadn't seemed to care about it…

Or so Konami had thought.

That first impression had quickly bolted out of her mind when she witnessed Ryuu's tantrum. It feels like an understatement now, thinking back on it.

Konami had arrived, alone this time as Nagato was busy with learning a new technique from Jiraiya, and came just as Taka was zipping up the back to Ryuu's outfit. She noticed how tight the fabric was starting to be, how constricting it was. She wasn't expecting it. Ryuu was a generally calm boy who sometimes got frustrated when he couldn't read and write like she could. But with her being as patient as she was, he was usually fine after a moment of her calming him down.

This time, as Ryuu glanced down and sucked in air, she realized that it was only to release an ear piercing scream. Taka acted quickly but the young volatile boy got the better of him as he _tore _up the jumpsuit to shreds. After that, it only got worse.

He went…_ballistic._

Konami could practically feel the killing intent leech off the boy in waves as he thrashed his home, throwing down decorations, tearing up documents and books, and breaking apart some of the furniture. It looked to only take a second, just one, but Ryuu was suddenly within an inch of her, entirely naked save for a strip of fabric around his waist. His eyes gazed into her even as Taka yelled for her to leave, to get out as fast as she could. But she could, frozen stiff with fear and intrigue alike. His eyes, she noticed for the first time, looked like that of a beast, of a wild one. Rabid, even. She had never, in all her years, seen eyes like that before.

In the face of dangerous, she found herself laughing hysterically.

Ryuu finally took pause as the room froze, all except for Konami. She could barely contain herself even as there was nothing remotely funny about the situation. Except…there was.

"How cute!" Konami spoke up, snorting through her nose at this point, "He outgrew his clothes! Ne, Taka, let's make his new pair a bit more baggy than the last. He's a growing boy, dummy, he doesn't stay one size forever."

Taka looked dumbfounded but as he glanced down at the floors trashed with all of his work and books, even he melted into laughter, nodding as tears sprung to his eyes, "I'd reckon that you'd be right about that."

That only sent Konami into even more hysterics, Taka joining in not much later.

Ryuu just stood there, completely dumbfounded for once in his life as he gazed at the mayhem he had caused. He frowned, utterly confused as he muttered, "Not mad? Or mad?"

"No, not mad," Taka said as the laughter puttered out, even as the feeling remained, "I could never be mad at you." He then went forward, kneeling down to gaze into the young boy's eyes as he brought a bare hand fearlessly to Ryuu's head, ruffling the mass of loose black hairs that looked more than overgrown. That action, most of all, had struck Konami to the core as she suddenly understood things a lot more. Ryuu…he _needed_ contact like that, but couldn't have it thanks to his bloodline. Taka understood this and loved him _so much_ that it didn't matter how dangerous it could be to touch the young boy. Taka was a parent, ready to provide what Ryuu needed, even if he was falling a little short it other areas. But it was more than that, Taka was ready to lay down his life for others, giving himself away so freely to others. He was…so kind and yet he wasn't going to last much longer in that body of his. Ryuu would be alone. Taka was aware of this and so…and so he got Konami to come to his home, and made her form a bond with the goofy, somewhat out of touch boy. He didn't want him to be alone when he was dead.

She could understand that. After all, she had been gravely ill just up until she stumbled upon Ryuu. Death was just being postponed for her with Nagato's treatment, but it was inevitable. She had often thought of her family and how her death would affect them. She didn't want them to be sad, she wanted them happy and laughing. _That_ was what she had wanted more than anything. Them happy, not just safe and protected.

Konami knew, right then, what kind of person she wanted to be. She wanted to be one that could make others happy. After all, that was the sort of thing only _she_ could do for her family. Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato were fully able to protect themselves physically. It was up to her, however, to make them feel joy, and all of those other things that sometimes wasn't much of a priority in a life filled with war and death. It was up to Konami to gather the information, the sort of thing that would be another layer of protection to her loved ones.

As the young azure haired girl gazed at the two, tears couldn't help but build up as she smiled from ear to ear. Her arms opened up, never thinking twice about enveloping the two of them into an embrace. It was dangerous, she knew, but her body took over before her mind caught up. Taka had released a small gasp, along with Ryuu, who—before he could help it—snuggled into her warmth. They stayed like that for a moment, lost in it.

When she let go of them, she felt perfectly fine. In fact, she felt better than she had in a long time.

That hug had been a warm one.

Taka, after that, turned into a role model and Ryuu became something of a little brother to her. She discovered more things once some of the doors in her mind had been sent away, opening herself to truly understanding some things. Most of them were silly, ordinary things to other people, like why Ryuu curled up in a ball at a corner when he settled down for a nap. Sometimes she joined him, but most times she just watched. It was probably one of the first times she had ever been concerned over someone that wasn't herself or her family. She would gaze at him, trying to figure him out like he was a puzzle. Why did he choose to sleep in the corner? Why was he curled up like that? It couldn't have been too healthy for him. But when she looked to Taka for answers, he just said that is was something specific Ryuu did to feel safe. Tiny cramped areas was Ryuu's favorite type of resting place, no matter if it was comfortable or not. So after she found out, she started making a blanket to keep him warm in those corners. It was especially nice when he started carting the thing around everywhere.

It wasn't just all Ryuu though, she discovered many things about Taka as well. He had been the son of a fisherman and had gotten married once, to a girl named Hana. An accident had occurred, however, causing Hana to nearly lose her life. If it wasn't for Taka's quick actions, she would have. Taka used his kekkei genkai on Hana for the first time, and afterward, appeared older. Hana, it seems, couldn't handle the stress of a quickly aging husband as he began to quickly use his bloodline limit for good. So she left. That's affected him in a lot of ways since then. He, she was sure, wouldn't _ever_ leave Ryuu behind, if he could help it. He was determined to give Ryuu a normal life, once he figured out a way to keep the boy calm when he was around strangers. It seemed that emotions had a lot to do with Ryuu's kekkei genkai. He could possibly control it, like was able to around Konami and Taka, but it was hard for him. He just _hated_ strangers—something about being chased out of his home for the umpteenth time being the cause. Apparently, Ryuu had grown up in a wolf's den, back when his kekkei genkai was easily controlled and had been practically raised by wolves.

It made sense, now that she thought about it, why Ryuu bit her, only to ask questions, hmm, never.

Konami, since then, had started to accept another family into her life, the two of them coming to understand her past and the things she had gone through. Often times, she was left telling Ryuu all of the funny tales her family had shared alone. Nagato was there a lot with her, and even he was getting integrated into Taka and Ryuu's lives. When Taka was busy with his documents and research, it was left to the two of them to entertain the insatiable boy. So they primarily stuck to recounting their past and if needed, Konami pulled those stories from her past life out of her arsenal. Those were Ryuu's favorite—go figure. It had gotten to the point that Ryuu frequently asked to meet Konan and Yahiko, wondering why he couldn't.

It was evident, as time went on, that something would have to give way and change.

It didn't help that Jiraiya was sending out frogs after her, tracking her movements. It would have hurt if avoiding them wasn't so annoying to her in the first place. But it wasn't only him, Yahiko and Konan knew something was up, that they were was hiding something.

She wasn't particularly weak willed so she wasn't worried about being guilted into spilling the beans but Nagato...well, _he_ was a different story. Konami could see the emotional unrest and the guilt taking a hold on him. He never said anything, but lying to them was what started bringing back his nightmares.

It didn't seem fair to her, that Nagato had to suffer for her.

And that, all of it, was why she was standing at Jiraiya's bedroom door, just after she heard him retire. She'd been too afraid to interject on his fervent writing, the night being the only time he had any peace to himself. Even now, she felt like her heart would be out of her chest, the very sound of it thrumming in her ears. They felt hot. _She_ felt hot. It wasn't that hot you get when you're sick, it was the feeling of a building panic, like you're slowly being roasted alive. Konami supposed she deserved this even as there was that stubborn feeling of being hurt still remaining in her heart. She wished Jiraiya had trusted her more, had doubted her even, that a young _sick_ girl like her could do anything of alarm.

Something had to give way though. She had rehearsed what she was going to say with Nagato, whose relief at her choice was nearly heartbreaking to her.

Biting her lip, she strengthened her resolve and knocked on his door.

His grunt came as a reply.

"Ah, it's Konami. I, uh, want to speak with you," she said as loud as she dared to go, voice shaking along with her tiny fists.

A pause, shuffling, then, "come in."

She quickly obeyed, entering the bedroom gingerly as she closed the door behind her. The room was dimly lit, Jiraiya sitting up in his futon with a haggard expression. A quick flash of remorse went through her as she swallowed nervously, praying for her anxiety to leave, but it remained as sure as stone. Twiddling her fingers, Konami cleared her throat one last time before starting, "I know you didn't believe me when I told you about falling down... You were right not to. It was a lie."

The air froze, and she winced, preparing for an onslaught. Instead, Jiraiya just heaved a sigh, "Then I'm assuming you're here to tell me the truth."

She nodded, "I..I was interrupted on my way to the market when I found this boy. He didn't have a chakra signature," and even now, it was just the barest of hums in his coils, as if he naturally had fearfully low reservations, "so I didn't sense him. This boy, as it turns out, was hungry and while thinking that I was food, he attacked me, biting my shoulder." Was the story as absurd as it sounded to her?

Jiraiya grunted his understanding when she paused.

"I...this boy, Ryuu, well, he has, um, a...kekkei genkai. A dangerous one that nearly killed me."

"_What?_"

Konami ignored his question and went on in her practiced recitation of the day that had dramatically altered her life. She did her best, explaining everything as well as she could to the Toad Sage, telling him over her reasons to keep quiet, of why is was so important that_ he_ kept quiet.

Afterwards, he just stared at her, groaning, "Why couldn't you save this until the morning? I can't think," he muttered drowsily but then he suddenly started smiling, "Well, I guess its good you told me. Now, I can get a good night's sleep..." Jiraiya trailed off as he fell back into his bed.

Konami blinked, unsure, "How...How long have you gone without sleep?"

"I don't remember, really."

Oh man, "You're an idiot. Tsunade would be so disappointed."

He just nodded off, saying something about Tsunade being pretty hot when she was angry. She really didn't know how that had to do with anything she had just said, so she just took that as the cue to leave.

She didn't know what would happen next, whether she had just ratted out Taka and Ryuu to the Hokage or if they were safe. One thing was for certain, they weren't getting a location out of her until the day she died.

* * *

**After Rain Comes Fair Weather**

* * *

Konami was getting tired of waiting for him to come back.

Who knew merchants were so frivolous in their ways? Didn't he know any sense of the time? Yukio, as it was, wasn't on her list of interesting people anymore, what with the way he hadn't been back long enough for her to speak with him. It kind of sucked that he was a key part of her entire plan to gain control over Hanzo politically. But merchants, especially the kind that traveled, was imperative to her success at building a monopoly on knowledge and information. Sigh.

It felt like, by then, that her senses had been stretched thin with how long she had spent trying to look for him. He was nowhere in her vicinity, or in any of the areas under her watch. It was becoming rather…frustrating. But then there's been a spark of hope when she's managed to pick up his signature some place on the edge of her range.

"Nami," Nagato spoke up from his perch on the stool at the restaurant she'd been told to wait at for Yukio. His chakra was fairly close by, but it was kind of hard to see it when there was so many people surrounding her. There was little reason to wonder why she hated packed places.

"Hmm?" Konami turned to Nagato, eyes meeting his as she tried to keep her agitation from showing.

"How much longer? Ryuu and Taka are waiting."

"Just a little bit longer, Nagi. I really need to meet up with this person."

"Why?"

Konami debated whether she should tell him of her plans when they were barely just ideas at this point. Considering her age and what she was capable of, she wouldn't be able to get a lot of the necessary work done, but she knew it was crucial to Yahiko's survival that she start it up now.

"It's just a hobby I want to pick up."

"What exactly is it?"

Konami bit her lip before honestly mumbling out, "Buying and selling information for profit. I want to make Yukio my business partner."

"Oh," Nagato gazed at her dumbly, "Oh."

"Did you think it was something else I wanted to do?"

"No, it's just that I never thought of information as being sold. Shouldn't it be open and free?"

"Idealistically, yes, but what kind of society do you think a shinobi one is? Secrets are inevitable and until Yahiko and you can unite this world, then I plan to fully abuse the system and have my way. It's how I'm going to help you guys."

He was smiling then, eyes twinkling as he repeated her words, "Unite this world? Do you really think it could happen?"

"Yes," there was no hesitation in her response, visions of an entire army under a single name coming together to face a common enemy flashing brilliantly through her mind. "Yes, it can happen."

"You sound so sure," Yukio's voice interjected, causing Konami to jump. Alright, discerning signatures from others? High up on the list of things to get better at.

"I am sure," she muttered out, agitated, "I _know_ it will happen."

"How could you know?" Yukio smirked, his long blonde hair having been pushed back into a ponytail. She had to look up to meet his eyes, tilting her head all the way back, but when she did she locked onto him stubbornly.

"Because we'll make it happen, that's how."

The sixteen year old nodded, as if this response was what he had expected. That was one of the several reasons this particular man annoyed her endlessly. He was impossible to surprise. There were plenty of other things too, like how he always had that stupid look on his face or how he spoke down to her like a little kid. He also treated her like a toy, made just for his amusement. She wished she knew a different merchant that she could bother.

"Because four war orphans ever managed to make a difference in the world," Yukio pointed out sarcastically, causing Konami to ground her teeth even as she forced herself to relax. She smiled up at him despite the desire to tape his shut.

"Enough about that, I have a proposition for you."

Yukio snorted, "A kid like you…"

"Become my business partner in gathering and selling information concerning the five elemental nations," her voice was thin, her expression tight and stiff. She knew that this would be the hard part—getting him to take her seriously.

Yukio outright laughed, "Man, you sure are something."

"You'll get all of the profits from it," Konami murmured, attacking head on, "And all you would have to do is spread the word. I already have information to sell, very important knowledge that could start wars," Konami explained, thinking of what she had learned from Taka. He, after discovering her plan of action, had revealed so many _interesting_ things that had occurred in the past—things that could raise a nation up in arms to revolt. Of course, the way to build a monopoly would be to save the best for last.

"You're ambitious for such a tiny kid," Yukio murmured, looking thoughtful, "Ah, I guess I can do it though. But I'm only doing it because I'm bored and you're...interesting," he smiled, as annoying as ever.

"Let's discuss the plan then," Konami sighed, getting ready for a long day of agitation before turning to Nagato, "Nagi, do you think you can go to Taka's ahead of me? I'll be there later."

He hesitated, eyes going to the mischievous merchant before resting on her, "Okay, but you have to hurry up."

"Will do," she chirped merrily before spinning to face Yukio, "Now, here's what I need you to do for me..."

* * *

**After Rain Comes Fair Weather**

* * *

She was fairly certain that Kairi was lying to her. Something about that little girls eyes didn't sit well with Konami as she sat gingerly in her seat at her new base of operations—a little shack that she had cleaned and fixed up since five months had passed with her plan in action.

"Hm, so, are you really certain you heard that?" Konami asked the young girl, barely six, as nicely as she could even with her given agitation. She liked people to properly work for her—their wages were well enough that they _should_. Unless, to be paid, that was the exact reason that Kairi was lying to her. Huh...well, it wasn't like her system was perfected yet. It had barely just gotten off the ground after all. So paying her minions by the report wasn't going to work out... She'd have to reflect later.

"Yes, Asahi-san," Kairi visibly winced when Konami merely groaned.

She honestly felt like a bully, but it had to be done, "I don't believe you. Get me proof next time you want to cheat the system." Promptly, she turned away, only to be held back by the tiny hand that reached forward to grab onto her.

Kairi's face fell as she leapt forward, green eyes blinking in a panic, "But I need money now! My brother's hospital expenses..."

Konami spun on her heel and tried for a smile, "Kairi, I already told you that if you get me something worthwhile, I'd personally pay for every single session with the doctor. Or, I'd find you a cheaper one."

"But!" Kairi began to sob, causing the migraine that had been building for the last three hours to come into effect, "But I'm not good at gathering information!"

Konami reached a hand up to warily rub her forehead, "It's simple, just listen in on conversations. Use your height to your advantage and stay inconspicuous." Was she using too big of words? Why couldn't Kairi understand?

Kairi blubbered on, "I-I'll try again, Asahi-san."

Sighing, she nodded, "Alright, get going. I expect something by the end of this week, though."

The young brunette yelped as she leapt out of her seat, "Okay, bye!" Konami just closed her eyes, expecting her to be out of sight by the time she opened them again.

Her plan was actually going quite well, despite a few mess ups and headaches. So far, she had spies in all of the hotspots of Ame, all exchanging a web of knowledge. Yukio had proved to be a hard worker, and had established an actual group of merchants dedicated to helping fulfill her goal to bring down Hanzo. Of course...none of them knew that they were pledging their loyalty to an eight year old. Still, the work was getting done and thus far, she had connections to the Daimyo of the land, exchanging information of intrigue to both of them.

As it turns out, the Daimyo himself had wanted Hanzo out of office for quite a while. His methods were outdated and harmful for the people of the land—obvious to everyone around. To help her out, he had provided some funds, but it was only a fraction out of what she had been making with the books she'd published. She was still uncomfortable with the prospect of stealing someone else's work from a different world, but the ability to pay her workers a fair wage far outweighed her morals and virtues.

It was hard work, and made keeping it a secret from everyone but Nagato increasingly difficult. A headache, all of it was.

Still, she had ambition to succeed in strengthening the people of the land, to establish connections to others who sought out the same thing. There wasn't a name to her organization—she was waiting for the day until Yahiko officially wanted to form a group of productive fighters—but there was a nickname that floated around in relation to her. Asahi. She kept her own name hidden and thus the alias was out there for her to be known. Nagato had picked it out: Rising sun.

It was weird responding to the name though, even if she preferred it to her own. Konami was still too cute and Asahi sounded cooler anyway.

Work was done for the day now that Kairi left, all of the files sealed up tightly in a scroll and the scrolls filled with people's pay ready to be sent off by way of Sorato, who had taken her offered job of delivering to other places of Ame. She just had to find him after she closed up her shack.

But before that...

She felt the chakra signature before her eyes snapped open spontaneously. Her body stood up without her intending to do so as she rushed outside of the shack.

"Tsunade!" She couldn't resist yelling out so openly. She was just so, shockingly, excited. But, Konami reminded herself, she had to finish her job still. Tsunade was still quite a way off from her and she needed to keep her priorities straight.

After locking up the shack, scrolls in hand, she rushed to the village where she knew Sorato would be hanging out in his usual place. She found him easily, eyes taking in his lazy posture and easy going laughter, before she vaulted herself at him, shoving the scrolls in his hand.

"These go to Kiyoshuu," she explained hurriedly, pointing out the specific ones, "and these go to Shikoyuun."

"Woah, okay, okay, what's the hurry? You look like you've just—."

"I have to go, sorry, bye!"

She made a note to apologize to him later, she was a better person now, and she refused to ignore her friends. This, however, was a _special_ circumstance. Tsunade coming to visit was no laughing matter. In fact, the Sannin had taken longer than expected in her return, but Konami didn't care about that right now. She was just sort of curious about exactly _who_ was the person traveling with the Slug Princess.

Nevertheless, Konami hurried home as she flung open the door after having flipped her plank, "Tsunade's back!"

Hollers of excitement echoed after her words, Yahiko and Konan poking out their head from the kitchen, while Nagato bounded out from their shared bedroom.

"Really!?" Yahiko boisterously jumped up while Konan erupted into a fit of giggles.

Nagato was grinning his goofy smile, eyes bright with happiness, "Where is she at then?"

"On her way," Konami clarified, "I sensed her chakra and she should be here within the hour."

"We should prepare dinner then," Konan suggested, always the smart one.

"We have to tell Jiraiya first though, he'd want to do something special," Nagato reminded them all.

"He's out though. Where is he even at?" Yahiko groaned to himself, frowning.

Konami blinked, ran through her range of sensing before muttering out, "He went to that stupid new hotsprings."

A round of frustrated muttering and inarticulate complaining occurred as the Ame orphans agonized over the mess Jiraiya had just gotten himself into. They weren't going to save his butt, no, thank you. That man needed to learn that sometimes, looking at women's bodies for his "research" would only get himself killed. Whether it was by Tsunade's hand or not, it was up to fate.

"Well, then let's just get dinner ready," Konan told them, only igniting a new heated discussion over what they would be making.

"It should be high in calories," Konami was saying, "she _has_ just come a long ways."

"What are calories anyway?" Yahiko asked, confused.

To be honest, she didn't know what they were either. Just knowing that a lot of them were good things were ninjas. Or was it a bad thing? In reply, she just shrugged.

"What a big help," the orange haired boy sarcastically and lovingly remarked, ruffling her hair. She couldn't help but giggle over it.

"Oh! Then you should make pancakes," Nagato suggested, looking thoughtful, "Tsunade would like to eat those. They were her favorite, after all."

"Good idea," Konan quipped, smiling, "I'll go set the table."

"I'll go practice my ninjutsu," Yahiko murmured looking ill as he gazed at the kitchen. Most of his attempts at cooking, well, just _hadn't_ gone in his favor.

"I'll help you," Nagato murmured to Konami as they all dispersed and set to work.

Dinner was ready and served before Tsunade arrived. But when she did get there, knocking with a slightly uncertain fist, the four kids all sprang forth, opening the door as they attacked her excitedly.

"You're back! You're back!" Konami couldn't help but joyously croon, having missed Tsunade more than she had expected. It was like saying goodbye to an aunt, or even an older sister.

Tsunade just heartily laughed, "Yes, I'm back."

"Who is she?" Konan curiously asked, gazing with wide eyes at a mop of black hair which sat delicately on a tiny girl. She shyly hid behind the Sannin and Konami had the feeling that she was supposed to know this face.

"Ah, this is my new student, Shizune," Tsunade announced, "I've decided to take her on as my disciple after a good friend of mine died. This is his niece." Even as the Sannin smiled, Konami could see that there was more to it than that. Her _lover_ had died, and Shizune had no one else to turn to.

"Nice to meet you," Nagato politely told the shy girl, wringing out a tiny smile from her.

"Nice to meet you too, I'll be in your care."

From there, the introductions were all made, Shizune slowly coming to be more open with her smiles as they all came to know each other. With that, they all came to rest at the dinner table, starting the meal once they were all comfortable.

As it turned out, Shizune was a year older than Konami, and rather smart for her age—in comparison to the other nine year olds she had been associating with as of late. She also really liked pancakes, just as much as, if not more than, Tsunade. The conversation had actually been going well, everyone excited and open to the new addition to their network of friends. Tsunade was surprisingly talkative too, and very curious as to what had occurred in the year she'd been gone.

They filled her in easily enough, her coming to know just how really talented they all her. Yet, there was one problem that occurred during the dinner as she looked to Konami and Nagato specifically.

"So, how has your health been? You look really good for someone with a disease that still can't be cured."

It was like she was suspicious of them.

Konami panicked, not having rehearsed telling _Tsunade_, that she'd met two kekkei genkai users and that one of them healed her of an incurable illness, only to persuade her to secrecy and a strict schedule of daily visits. Yeah, she doubted that would go over well with the blonde. Konami looked to her family for help, mostly to Konan.

"What?" Tsunade prompted when silence met her.

"There's something...uh, that, uh," Konami felt sweat bead on her forehead. Is this how her minions felt when they were being interrogated? If so, she had to make amends to them immediately.

"She's not sick anymore," Nagato said, coming to her rescue.

Tsunade scoffed, disbelieving, "What do you mean?"

"This guy, well, he healed her," Konan spoke up, nodding to herself, "We can tell you any more than that."

Hurt flashed across her face but was soon masked by an aloof cover, "Alright then. I come all the way for Konoha to visit you guys and this is the type of treatment I get. I see how it is."

Was it just to Konami or was Tsunade acting a little bit childish here?

"If it makes you feel any better, we kept it a secret from Jiraiya for months," Nagato told her, forever the kind one of the orphans, "and Yahiko and Konan."

Surprise flitted across the features of the Sannin as she finished up her plate of pancakes, "I see, so it must be important. I can understand that. Well, I'm just glad that Konami is safe now."

Relief filled Konami as she released the breath she had been holding back, "It is important." She thought back to what Ryuu and Taka had become to her. They weren't like family, no. It was more like they were her only real friends that she had made on her own. She supposed that they were also verification to her—confirmation that even she could change and better herself. Either way, she wasn't about to risk Ryuu and Taka, not when she still wasn't clear on how much Tsunade had changed herself.

"Now, where is that idiot we call Jiraiya?" Tsunade inquired.

A round of groans as Konami mumbled out the answer.

"Where is he?" Tsunade asked, blinking as she grounded her teeth, "Give me the directions, I'll go drag him back myself."

"Knock some sense into him while you're at it," Yahiko requested, gaining a smack on the arm from Konan as she chided him for being disrespectful.

"It would be my pleasure," Tsunade merely said, laughing to herself as she left the five kids alone in the home by themselves.

* * *

**After Rain Comes Fair Weather**

* * *

Tsunade wasn't very surprised when she found Jiraiya outside of the hot springs, waiting expectantly for her with a cup of shaved ice in his hands. She took it from him with a scowl, noting the steam coming off from him and the heat he exuded—he really _had_ gone in the bath then. Of course, she couldn't know if it was innocent what he had done inside of there but she could only assume it was lecherous. It was his claim to fame, after all, the man who took his 'research' to the extremes.

She still didn't know why she bothered with him, why, even after all this time, she continued to care. Dan was dead, gone, his niece to be looked after. Tsunade would never know if she could have helped on that mission but the guilt was there nonetheless. She'd stayed in Ame for Jiraiya and she had lost the chance to save Dan, to _be_ there for him. Her necklace hung on her chest, heavy as it always was with her thoughts.

The Slug Princess was not a lucky girl—she was even worse at relationships though, and hers with Jiraiya...

"Nice to see you again," he said to her with a real smile—not the funny one or the one where it was obvious he'd done something naughty. No, this one was one that set to her insides a burning warmth, a flicker of aching emotion in her chest. His voice was serious too, his humorous inflection gone but that hint of mischief clear in his dark eyes. Tsunade sighed. She had really hoped time the time away from Ame would do her _some_ good on the end of her impossible crush.

Jiraiya was too...

"What's this secret the brats aren't telling me?" she asked, taking a bite out of her shaved ice, tasting the sweetness of strawberries.

His tone was teasing as he said, "It wouldn't be a secret if I _told_ you, Hime."

Her scowl deepened—damn him, _damn _him—but she focused more on the subject at hand, gazing at him seriously, "This is important. Konami was _sick_. Sick as in I was _sure_ she'd be dead by the time I got back."

"Is that why you took so long?" Jiraiya asked and it was a quiet question, his eyes training on her. In that moment she hated how _good_ it felt to be in his presence after so long, and how nice it was for her to even see those eyes still glinting with stubborn life.

Tsunade frowned, "You think I took a long time so I could pass the death of a student of mine? No, I was held up. You may not know it, but I _do_ have responsibilities to our village as something more than a weapon. I was working with the hospital and figuring things out with Shizune."

He shifted uncomfortably, looking away from her gaze, before he asked in a thin tone, "Dan's niece?"

She pursed her lips as she regarded her teammate thoughtfully, "Yes. Dan's niece. She had no one and well...I figured I could take on an apprentice. One that _won't_ master everything I throw at him within days of learning it." Tsunade gave him a wry smirk, "How have they all been doing anyway?"

"They're excellent," Jiraiya said, his smile turning pained, "It may even be time for me to leave. Nagato has already learned all he can from me. Yahiko is working hard everyday to catch up and Konan is working on creating her own techniques. It'll be quite deadly once she's perfected it."

"And Konami?" Tsunade wondered, always having more of a soft spot for the girl who had so desperately wanted to help her friends and sister. The girl with a cute smile, thoughtful yet old eyes and a dash of childish energy that was hard to hide even with her illness. But that was gone, the illness. Who exactly was she now?

"She..." Jiraiya trailed off, "she's secretive. There was a time she didn't come home for two days, then suddenly appeared with her disease gone. After that, she kept leaving all the time and evading my toad summons. Of course, she told me a while ago what it was all about but she had me really concerned for her. I didn't know if I should be worried if she was getting into something dangerous or impressed that she was hiding everything so well. In the end, she's...Konami has become something I didn't expect. It's almost like she became a real pupil of mine."

Tsunade blinked, "What do you mean by that?"

"A spymaster is what she's become," he said, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully, "she collects information and sells it. Konami doesn't talk much about it but it'd be hard to miss the organized chain of information that Ame suddenly has. Even the _Daimyo_ has taken part of it and, well, it seems like everyone knows of Asahi but no one seems to know its all run by an eight year old girl. In fact, it's hard to trace anything back to her so I'm not even that concerned for her well being. Just for what she intends to do with the knowledge she's been collecting."

"These kids were serious, weren't they?" Tsunade asked out loud though she already knew the answer. She looked out into the expansive sky that continued to rain, pouring heavily onto the ground and greating an uneven road. She'd only ever seen Ame like that—uneven, broken, deteriorating. It was hard to imagine it as looking like anything else.

But the kids...

They were going to _do_ something with themselves, against all the odds facing them. They were going to fight against a corrupt government and bring about change, to save the land they were born in. Lesser people would just up and leave, immigrate to another land and face their chances there. But not them. No, they _were_ going to save Ame.

"I'd like to see it," she said softly, mostly to herself, "I'd like to see what kind of world they could create."

"Me too," Jiraiya murmured, then, even softer, "Hime...do you think...we could see it together?"

Tsunade looked at him in surprise, her jaw dropping open just slightly before she forced it back up. She swallowed thickly and frowned. Wonderingly, she echoed, "Together?"

He scratched at the back of his head and winced, "I'm really bad at this. Ugh, I can write so much but when it comes to this, I'm a bit useless. No," he sighed, meeting her wide-eyed gaze, "I'm _a lot_ useless. But, something Konami said really got to me recently and I've been thinking."

"What did she say?" Tsunade asked, unsure what it was she should be feeling. It definitely wasn't right of her to be _happy_, was it? No, she should feel angry—he'd taken a damn long time, hadn't he? Then there was the fact that she was still hurt, still aching from the hole that Dan's life had left in her. She didn't want to replace it, didn't want to jump into Jiraiya's arms just because he was suddenly getting _serious_. No, whatever it was that happened between them, she wouldn't make it easy.

"She said to me, when I asked about her thoughts on destiny, that she didn't think they were very clear things. That it wasn't something given or achieved. It was something lived, something to be experienced and I...well," he stopped, flushed darkly and with a raise to his pitch, he hurried on ahead, "I want to experience my destiny with you!"

Tsunade felt her face flame and she had no idea what to say.

Finally, after a long moment filled to the brim with the sounds of pittering and pattering rain drops, Tsunade laughed softly. She met his eyes squarely and couldn't help the grin on her face, "It's about time, you dumbass!"

Then she punched him—just cause she felt like it.

* * *

**After Rain Comes Fair Weather - End**

* * *

**Unedited - Beta Wanted**

* * *

**Next On Monopoly: Wolf's Den - Interlude -**

_**Edit: **__This chapter has been added to, for there to be a more fitting end to this arc._


	5. The Shadow of a Rising Sun

Omg, fanfiction fucking me over here. I didn't update, just moving things around! There is no new content and I'm sorry if anyone was looking forward to it. It was the websites fault tho.

* * *

**Monopoly - ****独占**

* * *

_**5**_

* * *

Jiraiya and Tsunade left and became much like the wind in Ame—there was none.

Konami couldn't stand to see them leave, the two that made her grow and had taken care of her all this time. She knew they had to, and that it would be a long time before they'd see each other again. The very fact of it made her heart ache, as the words 'good-bye' got stuck in her throat. The only form of consolation was that she wasn't alone in it. She had Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan after all. She also had a job to do, a monopoly to build up. She had to change their land from the inside out, and spread the tale of Akatsuki. Yes, that was her job, and she would see it through.

* * *

**Four Years Later**

* * *

Konami was fairly certain that she'd get him back soon. She'd get him back—and good too.

See, one did not mess with her when it came to matters like this, not without fear of retaliation at least.

"_Ryuu_," her voice was cold and unsympathetic as she called out to him, expecting him to come out with a helpless expression and a lame excuse like, _Yahiko told me to do it._

Except what actually happened was that Ryuu stepped out from his room looking completely oblivious and confused, "What?"

It didn't look like he did it, so she merely asked, frowning, "Do you know who stole the sheet I have on Maiko? Her assessment paperwork is something I need before she can be allowed into the organization."

Ryuu shrugged, not looking particularly distraught about the mention of lost files, "Ask Taka, I'm sure he would know. He's a nut about paperwork, like you. Honestly, don't get it." Konami was far too disturbed to correct his last sentence, something she'd been doing help him increase his grammar skills.

Sometimes she wished he cared more about the things she did—it would make getting him to do work easier after all—but she preferred Ryuu as himself; interested only in animals and food. He was cuter that way, and innocent to the ugliness of the world. At fifteen, most would think there would be no way he could have slipped out by now without his dreams destroyed and heartbroken, but Ryuu hadn't been spared of this. He was merely a resilient boy, and detached enough to care little for the things that had gone wrong in the past four years she had known him.

In reply to his words she made a noncommittal grunt and went off in search of the doctor and her dear friend. She found him a mere moment later, nose stuck into the exact papers she had been in search of. Konami calmed immediately as she snuck forward playfully to see if she could wrangle a reaction of him this time, but he looked up just she was about to—.

"Ah, Konami, it looks like I was right again," Taka merely said with a grin and Konami winced, biting her lip before leaning to gaze at Maiko's assessment.

"Damn, I was hoping I'd have her all to myself," Konami deliberately pouted, looking to Taka with big eyes.

It didn't work on him as per usual, only bringing a smile to his lip as he gave an easy laugh, "Remember your word, I get all the bloodline limits, and you get the others."

"Yeah, yeah," Konami sulked before brightening, "but can't you at least let me borrow her, just for a bit?"

Taka looked thoughtful before shrugging, "It would depend entirely on what she would want."

"Great," Konami nodded to herself, "someone like her could help out so much."

"I'd imagine," Taka merely admonished before setting down the woman's files and turning to look at Konami, "How are the others doing?"

"Akatsuki is becoming very well known in Ame, and I can imagine that this means very good things for us."

"And very bad."

"Yes, there's that," she hesitantly admitted before brushing it off with a pleased smile, "but I have my hooks in him. Hanzo doesn't have much political sway in Ame anymore, and aside from a few of his supporters—."

"Danzo."

"Yes, Danzo and his ROOT members, there isn't much of a threat poised against us. Not when we have so much manpower backing us. Like Kumo, Suna, and Iwa" yes, she had gotten their allegiance in the name of Akatsuki not too long ago when she opened up trade with them, "Konoha is on the fence, probably due to Danzo's meddling, but there's little to worry about. They won't be making any attacks, not after what they've done in the past."

"So, it looks like we should be able to win this without a fight."

"Hanzo is dangerous and powerful," Konami reminded him, "I'm not going to doubt what he could do."

Taka just smiled at her, "If I had known that you would grow up to be the savior of our forsaken land—."

"I'm not the savior," she corrected him almost absentmindedly, despite what others would say, "Akatsuki is. We owe all our gratitude to the people who have joined us and helped us throughout the years."

"But it was you who united them," Taka insisted on saying, much to her surprise.

"I merely set the foundations for selfish reasons," she murmured, "Nagi, Yahiko and Konan did all of the real work." They really had, having been the ones to risk their lives in defending others and completing missions for the people of this land, earning their gratitude and respect. Konami hadn't expected it to go so smoothly for them, but it had helped that Akatsuki was aligned with Asahi, the organization that Konami had built a monopoly with before integrating it with Akatsuki.

"Just the physical side of things. You've acted as the brains, despite your age and ignorance."

"Well, Taki," she smiled warmly at him, using her special nickname with him, as she did when she was particularly feeling close to the older man, "you were the one who helped me with everything. If it wasn't for you…I wouldn't have ever been able to do this, any of it." She leaned down then and kissed his cheek, feeling the wrinkles of his aged skin and his comforting warmth. "Thank you, for the vow you took."

With knowing eyes, Taka smiled jovially, "It has been my pleasure, my dear Kona."

Konami refused to be disgruntled, but it didn't help her anxiety much when he talked like that. Like any second he would die on her, giving up the life he had built with Konami intricately woven in. It had been the very reason she had insisted he put a stop to giving up his lifespan for others. Taka had done more than enough in the ways of saving lives with his affiliation in Akatsuki as he worked as a doctor for the wounded and poor. He'd not only done that, but he had gone the extra mile in assisting Konami in her work, building up her monopoly, and then he had helped her in gathering members for her organization, knowing intimate details of other hidden kekkei genkai users—the ones that refused to work for Hanzo and the ones that had just wanted to live in peace.

Now, all of them worked for the better good of Ame under the system that Taka and she had assembled with equality of the people in mind. But not only that, when she had asked, he became her face and had taken on diplomatic meetings in her stead.

"Taki," she softly spoke, forcing a smile on her face, "you can't leave us before we're finally free. Not until we've united the world, okay?"

Taka's own smile was warm, but he said nothing, only bringing a gentle hand to her face as she leaned into it. She horribly wished that she had seen him as he was with Hana, how different of a person he had been before then, with a wife in his life. She knew intimately of Taka's pain, and she knew just as well that there would be no release for it.

"You shouldn't have done it, you know," Taka suddenly spoke up as the momentary silence left them.

She raised a brow in question, confused, "What shouldn't I have done?"

"Faked your death, along with the others too."

She knew immediately who he was talking about, but she frowned just the same, pulling away as she came to regard him stubbornly, "We had to. Jiraiya and Tsunade can't become involved with Ame anymore." Also, it kept her fellow orphans safe from being kidnapped and being killed.

"So you figured they wouldn't care at all that the four of you are now presumably dead?"

She pursed her lips, "We'll tell them when things are fixed in Ame."

Taka sighed but nodded with the patience of an expert, "I hope that day comes soon. Very soon."

Konami tried to tell herself that there was nothing wrong but she couldn't shake the niggling feeling in the back of her mind as she softly whispered, "What's wrong? Is…your health bad? Be honest." She turned away, trying so hard to deny the likelihood of Taka dying any time soon. He had so much work to do ahead of himself. He couldn't give up on her yet, not when they had gotten this far.

"You shouldn't have faked your death," was all he said to her in response. But that was more than enough for her to know with certainty that Taka didn't have much time left. Her shoulders sank before she turned to him once more, coming to kiss him on the cheek once more.

"I love you, Taki," she murmured to him almost without a thought but then when her words sank in, her face flushed red with embarrassment. It didn't matter that she always said it to him being that he was like a grandfather, or an older brother to her. She was always shy when opening up about her feelings. The thing about knowing so much information on others was that it made her apprehensive to be honest about herself. One could never know what others will do with it.

Taka just merely smiled at her as he brought a hand up to ruffle her bangs, "I love you too, little Kona."

She grinned then, letting herself laugh before coming in to hug him. In the end, what mattered to her now was that Taka was alive and here, breathing just like she was.

* * *

**The Shadow of a Rising Sun**

* * *

"Nagi," Konami called out to him, stepping into their new hideout. The last one had been abandoned back when an enemy ninja had entered, something that was inevitable and made living there dangerous. So they had moved into a different space, one that Nagato had created with one of his massive earth bending jutsu he liked to show off to Konami with. This one was safer than the last, being underground, and larger, but nothing could beat the imprinted memories from their last home, with the Hop-In planks still as they were. She still visited to keep the home clean, if there ever came a day that the four of them could move back in.

The cherry haired boy was already standing at the entrance, expecting her. He gave her a smile before wrapping her into a hug, his scent immediately calming her down. It had become their ritual as the years had spanned on. When Nagato had started getting into dangerous situations, ones where he would come home beaten and tired, they had taken to hugging whenever they saw each other and whenever they left each other. It was always a nice, comforting feeling when she was in Nagato's arms, protective against her slight, thin frame. He'd really filled out over the years, towering over her in height and thicker than her with the muscles he had gotten from the arduous training he put his body through.

Silently, as they had grown accustomed to instinctively reading each other, they moved into the kitchen with food on the brain. Raiding the pantry, they moved around each other easily, never once getting in the way of the other as she could know wherever he was at in the world without thinking and he'd grown accustomed to feeling for her chakra by then. Soon, they had two plates of easily prepared sandwiches and a fruit salad.

The two then found themselves seated at the table as they quietly ate, reminding her of the past when her family used to do the same.

However, before long, she did have to begrudgingly speak up, asking him, "Where are Yahiko and Konan?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. The two of them headed out an hour before you came home. It sounded like they wanted to be alone though."

Konami couldn't resist an eye roll, "Those two ready to get married yet?"

Nagato chuckled, grinning at their private joke they often made when regarding the other two, "I bet they'll elope by the end of the month."

Konami snickered, "Well, it _is_ legal for fifteen year olds to get hitched." In fact, thirteen year olds like herself could also get married. It wasn't that strange if you considered the estimated lifespan of most civilians of Ame. Places like Konoha were probably stricter about the whole thing though.

"I wonder why they're trying to keep it secret though," Nagato had been trying to figure out, but the minds of those two teens were unfathomable to Konami and him.

"You think they're embarrassed? Or maybe they think we'll make fun of them?" Konami suggested, thoughtful.

Nagato chuckled, "If only they knew."

To this, she grinned, "We're so bad."

"Definitely worth being punished by Hanzo for."

They erupted into laughter.

"Whatever it is, they need to tell us so that we can set the date for the wedding," Konami intoned seriously after she regained her breath. It was short lived as before long, she ended up breaking into another whoop of laughter, which Nagato joined in with heartily.

Times like this were good for her, after having such a stressful day. It really helped relieve her tension and anxiety and Nagato was the only one that could have her crying from laughing too hard. Over the years, he had changed so much, becoming much more open with her, happier. He didn't sulk as much, and most days he was in a rather chipper mood. He often told her that he was only like that around Konami, like himself back before his home had been raided and his parents killed.

She knew that the scars on his heart would remain forever, but knowing that he could smile like this with her had always been a relief and a much needed reprieve from the world and the agitation it brought to her.

"Nagi," she murmured softly as soon as their laughter had died out, leaving them to soak in the moment as the feelings lingered.

"Nami," he smiled at her then, understanding that she had nothing special or of importance to say to him. She had merely wanted to feel close with him by using his nickname, the special one that no one could ever call him.

She doubted she'd ever find someone who understood her as well as he did, making her so terribly glad that Nagato was in her life.

They sat in silence after that, goofy grins splayed out on their faces for anyone to walk in and see. Humor colored their eyes, as well as a deep love for one another. Trust, unadulterated trust, hung between them like a bond made of the strongest metal.

Konami felt content with her life, even knowing that it would be taking a change soon, if Akatsuki was successful in their war against Hanzo. She had a nagging feeling that something else would affect it soon enough, but she had little sense to know _what_ she should be looking out for.

For some reason she thought of masks, but she couldn't fathom on why.

* * *

**The Shadow of a Rising Sun**

* * *

Maiko was a waifish, tiny, and slight woman who looked just as sickly as her little brother was. What really took her off guard, however, was the very western style of clothing she chose to wear; a maid's outfit, with full long skirts, an apron and a cap over platinum hair to match. Her face was expressionless, almost unimpressed, but there was a strange look in Maiko's green eyes. Something akin to worry.

Konami couldn't help but blink, images flashing through her mind briefly. She resisted a snort, but the experience was a new one to her; she'd never seen western clothing taken so far in Ame, although out of all of the five nations, it was the country that had the biggest influx to be inspired by the westerners. It was something Konami had always found a bit humorous, that the spread of western culture was the same as her past life. She didn't often think about it, being that she'd never heard the word spoken, but perhaps their very own world was just a mirror to her other one? There was evidence to prove it contrary, however, as she had never heard any of the countries name spoken.

"I hope you can excuse my state of dress," Maiko said as the silence between them lingered, hand hovering over her little brother who wore an unhappy face, "I was just heading from my place of work before Sorato-san came with the message."

Konami nodded, but didn't ask where she worked, "I see, well, I think we should get to the point of the matter then. You may call me Asahi, leave the honorifics if you please, and I think we'll get along great."

Maiko smiled then, a somewhat forced one, as if she weren't used to the action, nodding her understanding.

"I have been wondering whether you'd feel up to joining Akastuki for a brief period of time."

"But the benefits—."

"Will be yours. Do not worry, we have a lot of members who have sickly siblings," Konami explained gently, "we have top level medics working with us to give those benefits to all of those who help us in our dream and only the best will come to heal your brother, free of charge."

Maiko visibly relaxed, "If I may ask, what is the difference?"

"Well, Akatsuki is a fighting force, similar to that of a shinobi village, while Asahi is mostly information gathering. You specified in your assessment test that you wanted to work in Asahi, and we have a rule that all kekkei genkai users will be placed there first, until they get an understanding of where they want to be. It is their own personal choice where they want to be. We don't abuse our members with their contracts, and if you've read it, you know that you can leave whenever you want—within reason, of course."

Maiko looked thoughtful, the barest hint of her brows lifting, before she spoke, "I…I am not a fighter, but if you need my kekkei genkai, I would be happy to provide assistance."

Konami nodded, pleased as she stood up from her chair, "Follow me then, I have your team to introduce you to."

"T-team?" Her brother spoke up for the first time, eyes wide and almost shining, "Like in the games with ninja?"

Konami smiled at him, and nodded, "Yes, very much like that, except they are all real shinobi who've aligned themselves with Akatsuki. I'm not sure if you're aware, but with funds from the Daimyo, we've managed to create an Academy, one fully operated by us and for us."

Maiko blinked, "Then, is the orphanage also under your control?"

"Yes, it is. Along with the new library and homeless shelter," Konami informed them, "Our goal is to one day be the only form of government in Ame, that Hanzo will be shred of his title. This is where Akastuki comes in. Hanzo will not leave without a fight, and thus we have built up a fighting force to combat him. Asahi is for establishing exactly where he is," Konami explained, although she'd known where Hanzo was for quite a bit of time. His chakra wasn't one to be missed, even if it were so far away.

"That's so cool," Maiko's little brother whispered, eyes wide.

Konami knelt to look him in the eye, a gentle smile playing on her lips, "What is your name, little one?"

"Yuki," he said, almost shyly. Konami tried to keep the look of annoyance off as a certain agitating face skirted on the edge of her mind. She wouldn't give _that_ man any more power than he already had over her.

"Well, I hope that when your sister allows, you can join and be cool with us." Konami straightened and looked into Maiko's eyes, "Since this is only temporary, you don't have to go through courses at the Academy, but if you wish to continue on with Akatsuki, it is imperative that you travel up the chain like all others. We use the regulated class distinction of genin, chuunin, and jounin like the other hidden villages do."

Maiko nodded again, that thoughtful expression on her face once more before she murmured softly, "You were saying that I'd be meeting my team?"

"Oh, yes," Konami immediately spun on her heel, heading for the door, "please follow me."

With footsteps following behind her, she took them through the building that all work had moved to before leading them to the door outside. Konami then distributed umbrellas, opening them up as they all left and came to one of the training fields that had been created for Akatsuki uses.

"Isai, Jun, Aiko," Konami called out and the three ninja appeared before her, questioning looks on their face.

"What is it, Asahi? You never bother us at this time of day," Jun said, wincing when Isai jabbed his elbow into Jun's waist.

"It isn't a bother," Isai murmured, pushing up his glasses on the edge of his nose, a glint catching on them. Konami blinked, cueing the image away for later, when she needed a good laugh.

She placed her hand on her hip, but gave them an easy smile, "It's no worry. I just thought you would like to meet your newest team member, and her little brother."

"Her?" Jun asked, face instantly bursting into a flush. It was Aiko who jabbed him in the stomach this time, a look of annoyance clear on her dark skinned face.

Konami looked at Jun with concern, "I thought you'd gotten over—never mind," she looked to the others, "Just don't cause trouble for the medics, you two."

Aiko smiled with a nod as Isai have a strict "yes".

"This is Maiko and Yuki. Maiko," Konami gestured to the girl as she gave a stiff bow, "will be using her bloodline limit to help us out. She's just a temporary member, for now. Treat her with respect."

"Will she be training with us then?" Aiko asked, gazing curiously at the stone-faced Maiko.

"No," Konami answered, "She'll be going on missions, but the three of you will have to look out for her well-being. Her kekkei genkai is long range so there shouldn't be too much trouble though."

"What is it anyway?" Jun asked, face still red as he looked at Maiko. He used to say that it was because he didn't like girls, but as time went on Konami had begun to suspect that it was he liked girls a bit too much.

Konami looked to Maiko, "Want to explain?"

She nodded, and spoke up, her voice soft and nearly drowned out by the pattering of rain, "I can reinforce other people's abilities and strengthen them to their max limit by distributing a bit of my chakra into theirs."

"Like bringing out the latent talent of a person," Isai murmured, gaze studious as he took in Maiko's form before turning to Konami in all seriousness, "Great job, leader, in finding such a gem."

Konami refused to give into her desire to ironically preen as she gave a simple nod, coming to clap her hands together, "Well then, you may take the time to acquaint yourself together. I'll be heading home for the day, if you need me."

"Right," came their chorused reply. It was almost funny to her that most of them were older than her.

With a wave, she went off on her way and before long, she found herself in the company of her family.

"Welcome home," Yahiko was saying with a sly grin, the very same one he had adopted from Jiraiya, "Konan is in the bath."

_I figured you'd be in there with her_, Konami wanted to say but decided to save it for when she saw Nagato. She highly doubted Yahiko and Konan's relationship had gotten to _that_ point, but hormones and teenage puberty were no joke, and she could never be certain. She shivered, balking at the thought of her sister and the boy she looked up to as a brother being together. It was fun to joke, but there was still something strange about it to her.

Best not to linger then.

"Where is Nagi?"

"Right here!" Nagato stepped out, hair in tragic disarray and clothes in tatters. She gaped.

"W-what happened to you?" she sputtered out.

"One word," Yahiko helpfully chimed, "fangirls."

Konami couldn't help but feel confused, "What?" She doubted she'd ever heard such a conjunction in her life, "Girls who are fans?" She felt like she had known something akin to it in her past life but she couldn't be sure.

"Exactly," Yahiko snickered to himself as Nagato's face became heavily flushed, "Rin, it seems, is quite the popular fellow. There were even a few guys tossed in the mix."

"Well, _Chahan_ should have been helping Rin out," Konami muttered, coming forward to fix Nagato's hair. The cherry red haired boy laughed as soon as she mentioned Yahiko's chosen name. It was just like him to name himself after food, fried rice of all things, when they refused to help him out when deciding new identities for themselves.

Yahiko just laughed to himself, earning a glare from Konami. When he just gave her his usual grin, she gave up, turning a sympathetic eye to Nagato. His face seemed to burn brighter, his long bangs coming to frame the sides of his face as she tried to fix his hair.

Something within her was feeling particularly venomous when over hearing that other people had been touching what was hers. That was another drawback to having built up a monopoly; she felt like things were possessions to her, and Nagato wasn't any different. Of course, she had already informed him of his status, having been bought by her love. He was to be her best friend forever, and no one should, or could, change that.

"Ow," Nagato winced when tugged particularly hard on a lock of hair.

She bit her lip guiltily, quickly finger combing out the rest of the knots formed, "Sorry."

Nagato simply smiled at her when she pulled back, a white one that showcased all of his pearly whites, "Thank you."

Someone so cute and innocent shouldn't have to be attacked like this. Konami sighed, and tugged her own hair out of her braid, allowing the moist locks to frame her face as she gave Nagato a soft look, "Be more careful."

His own gaze came to soften, "I will."

"Get a room," Yahiko called to them, interjecting. Konami, unwittingly, flushed as she moved further away from Nagato.

"You should just go join Konan in the stupid bath," she snapped, then brought her hand up to her face in surprise, "Sorry, that was uncalled for." Stupid senseless teenage hormones. They were to blame for things taking such a strange turn in her life.

"Oh," Konan came out just then, hair wrapped up in a towel as her cheeks burned, "oh."

Konami simply sighed before speaking again, "I have to talk to all of you."

The atmosphere in the room sobered up, their eyes coming to meet hers.

"We have a new rule, okay? No doing business with guys with masks. Ever, not even if things get tough, got it?" She waited for them to nod, even when they looked confused by her senseless order. She still couldn't remember all the details, only having her books to really help her out, but it made sense to her that she should take an extra precaution in warning them. Just to say, if everything she had done had been for naught, that she had done everything she could in trying to keep her family safe.

The three of them came to nod, having come to accept that sometimes Konami was just weird.

* * *

**The Shadow of a Rising Sun**

* * *

Nagato knew that only someone with a great strength and ability would be able to invade their hideout so easily. It made him feel stiff, and ashamed. He had to figure out exactly how the masked man had arrived in their home, and exactly how to defend against it.

Yahiko was standing just like Nagato was; with a body taut for action, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

The masked man looked unconcerned, relaxed as he spoke up, "I'd like to speak with you both about joining me—."

"No," Nagato surprised himself with how vehement it had come out, "we don't discuss matters with people in masks." He felt almost proud of himself for recalling Konami's newest rule. He hadn't expected to when he had been so distracted with looking at her with her hair down. She was always the prettiest like that, when her waved and curled hair came to frame the sides of her face in a flattering fashion, making her appear cuter than usual. It didn't help matters when she had been looking at him with those eyes of hers—Nagato shook himself of the thoughts, focusing on the situation at hand.

"That's right, we don't. So, we ask that you leave," Yahiko stood as brave as every other time he was faced with a possible enemy. It was something Nagato so deeply admired him for—his readiness to never flee, to never give in to defeat. When he was younger, he could recall wishing to be like him, to be admired, but things had changed since then and Nagato felt fine being the way he was.

The masked-man took a step forward, and it sounded like there was a smile in his voice, "I'll be back, and when I come back, I know that you will need to accept my help."

The words sounded ominous to Nagato but his eyes couldn't help but widen as the man before them had disappeared into a void. He blinked, reading the jutsu that took place but couldn't recognize it. He only knew that it had something to do with space and time ninjutsu, and the Sharingan eye he'd managed to catch a glimpse of.

"So _this_ was what Konami was talking about," Yahiko was saying, laughing, "I wonder how she knew?"

"Or maybe he went to visit her first and realized that she's the paranoid one?" Nagato suggested, but felt his hackles rise at the thought of a stranger like that coming into contact with Konami.

Nevertheless, Yahiko chuckled at Nagato's weak joke before coming to face the redhead, "We should go tell the girls what just happened, then."

Nagato felt conflicted—he didn't want Konami to worry any more than she did already if she didn't have to but he knew how she'd get when she figured the truth out. She always did, and then she'd feel betrayed.

In the end, Nagato sighed and nodded, "I'll go tell Nami, she should be withSorato inKiyoshuu."

* * *

**The Shadow of a Rising Sun**

* * *

Kiyoshuu was a village unlike many others. It had become the hub of Asahi's networks. Mostly because it was primarily a market, one of the largest in Ame and as bountiful in wares and goods as it was of solid information. People worked here, people who worked for others, hung around others, and people could get particularly chatty when they were unhappy. The same could also be said for the vice-versa, practically making this Konami's special haven. When she wasn't back at the underground lair or sorting things out with Taka, she was here, listening and walking around as in inconspicuous civilian with a little too much time on her hands—or not enough, depending on how you look at it.

Konami blinked up at Sorato and he was smiling at her. She couldn't help but make a face before nudging him with her foot, "Do you have it for me?"

He nodded, clearly pleased with himself as he produced a sheaf of papers covered in a protective wrap. Konami took them into her hands irreverently and with a grin. She didn't care so much about how she got them but she _did_. Proof that Hanzo and Danzo were working together, organizing _something_. She could show this to her family and then they'd _know_. Fighting to save Ame was the only thing they could do. They had all they needed now. They could take over and finally, _finally_ Ame would be theirs for the taking. Hanzo had been the only thing standing in their way and now they'd _have_ to believe her.

"Thank you, Sorato," she murmured with a grin and he tweaked her nose with an expression of companionable fondness. Grumbling, she shifted away from him with a touch of a scowl before blinking. She could feel Nagato in the area.

He was quick to get to her, as he always was, and she smiled as soon as she saw him. He looked just a bit frazzled and concerned. Instantly worried, she closed the distance between them with Sorato quickly forgotten. It didn't stop the indignant spark in the runner's chakra as she chafed him unintentionally. Nagato's hands went to her chin, his fingers trailing across the wet skin. He looked troubled and that expression always did terrible things to Konami.

"What's wrong?" she asked, fearing the worst.

"We met the masked man," he told her and she blinked rapidly.

"He wanted us to work with him?" she wondered then she shifted uneasily as she looked around where they could never be too certain if someone was listening in or not. Konami got closer to him, slipping into a hug as she stood on the tip of her toes to whisper in his ear, "He's bad for us. He wants to control us. He plans to help Hanzo destroy us and then manipulate the broken pieces of Akatsuki to his purpose."

"We won't let him," Nagato whispered back, just as fervently as she had been speaking, his hold on her back tightening.

"No," she agreed, pulling back with a faked smile, "we won't. Now, we should get back to the hideout. I have something to show the three of you."

* * *

**The Shadow of a Rising Sun**

* * *

"See?" she told him, spreading out the papers. She leaned back as she watched them take in the information, her arms crossing over her chest. "I've had members of both Akatsuki and Asahi tailing the both of them for months and Sorato's been helping me piece together the information they've all overheard and transcribing them. That is what you see before you. Not to mention," she grinned, snatching one specific piece of paper out of the bunch, "I have several of the actual notes they passed to each other. Asahi is _quite_ good at information recovery."

Konan's usually impassively calm eyes were wide, "This is huge, sis. This is exactly what we've been needing, isn't it? Now we can show the rest of Ame who he is. His supporters will know just how bad he is, and then we'll be the major power, right? We could end this without bloodshed!"

Konami wasn't convinced with that last statement. In her mind, this made for all the more reason to attack and kill Hanzo. They certainly had the manpower for the battle, the information on his attacks and abilities to plan contingencies upon contingencies to corner and destroy him. That was the intent for Asahi, the reason she had worked so tirelessly to assist in training strangers into shinobi who viewed her as something akin to a goddess. It was why she sent out so many platoons in information gathering missions, snatching Akatsuki members when she could so that they could return safely to her. Now Konan was intent to ruin the fun of that.

Yahiko was grinning broadly, quite pleased and it was enough to set her off from her disatisfaction.

He reached over and tousled her hair affectionately, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead when she didn't immediately smack his hand away as she had taken to doing.

"You've done so well, little sister," he told her and she wasn't above preening now as she grinned and let him compliment her. "Seriously, we would have never gotten this far had it not been for you."

"So Hanzo is intent to double-cross us," Nagato piped up, frowning as he scoured the information before him, "How do we go about dealing with him? Any way of setting up a meeting will leave him looking for ways to harm us, so we can't go to him full on unless we want to kill the guy."

_We should kill him_, she thought with a nod.

Then, because it was Nagato and he'd never suggest to do it, she sighed, "I have enough contacts that I should be able to spread news of his plans to deceive us quite quickly. I doubt his supporters will care too much though. They're _his_ and not _ours_ for a reason. I vote we cut the head off the salamander and be done with it."

Konan frowned at her, "But Konami...we should try to be better than him. That's exactly what he's trying to do to _us_."

Konami blinked at her, unimpressed, "So? He'll never stop trying to hurt us and it's not like he wants to be friends with us."

"What if we could be though?" Nagato wondered, looking sad and a bit dejected.

She had to force herself to look away. Konami wondered how exactly they had all turned out to be so terribly idealistic. What did they even expect out of her? _Sure, let's all go be friends with people who want to see us dead!_ No, that wasn't a good idea. At all.

For just a second, she felt like she was at work and attempting to wrangle common thought out of kids who refused to see reason. Or perhaps the problem was her? Maybe she was too arrogant, thinking she knew best when each of their thoughts had equal merit. After all, for as much as she knew, it wasn't as if actually _dealing_ with people had ever been her forte. No, she was too uncomprehending of others that she had nothing more than a passing interest in. She just wasn't naturally empathetic towards others who had yet to prove themselves worthy of her attention that was already split in too many directions as it was.

"Okay," she said finally, "we'll try to work things out with Hanzo peacefully."

* * *

**The Shadow of a Rising Sun**

* * *

That bastard was _really_ testing her resolve to do as her family wanted of her.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she asked, and Taka raised his brows at her harsh language.

"No, I'm not. He's actually attempting to deassemble Akatsuki by targeting the members. Asahi is too well hidden, or," his lips quirked into a wry grin, "too far spread out to actually attempt to disassemble it. But Akatsuki is different and he knows that."

Konami chewed at her thumbnail, nasty habit that she'd developed, but one that was helping her think.

"Has anyone died yet?" she wondered and was half dismayed to find that she actually cared if the answer would be yes. There was a sinking feeling in her stomach and she almost felt a bit sick at the prospect of people on _her_ side dying. In a way, she understood this less as people she loved being in danger but more as people in _her_ protection, never minding the fact that Taka worked more in concern to Akatsuki than she did.

"No," he answered, and now he was fully smiling, "I planned for this. Did you think I'd be useless at a time like this? All the members are safe and sound, I've pulled them out of missions for the time being and have worked with Nagato and Ensui to create a hiding place for them underground. With Ensui's ability to hide things so well, I figure they'll be just fine."

Which would explain why _she_ couldn't sense them either. Ensui's kekkei genkai wasn't obviously destructive or even so noticeable at others. It had been a surprise to find him, even more of a surprise when they all discovered his certain _knack_ later on. His chakra became a dense shroud that mimicked nature chakra, allowing him to hide himself from sensors and trackers alike. She could only assume that he'd been training just for a moment like this, when he'd have to use his abilities for the others. Konami only hoped he could hold out long enough so that they could see this through to little to no bloodshed.

"So he can't attack us and we're at a stalemate," she summarized, tapping a finger against her nose, "Should we pay Hanzo a visit?"

"He's deflecting any of our advances and invitations to meet. He knows we know about his relations to Danzo and ROOT, but he doesn't know how much and I think that makes him nervous. His allies are beginning to lose their faith in him as a result," Taka shifted in his seat, rubbing absentmindedly at his bony wrinkled hands. No one would ever expect that he was only twenty-seven...

"That's wonderful," Konami commented, shifting her thoughts elsewhere, truthfully pleasantly surprised that she wasn't receiving a completely shit update about the state of affairs in Ame. Nope, still just the usual hunger and repairs that the war had left them to deal with that Hanzo had been slacking on. Soon, the entirety of reconstruction and repairing the government in Ame would be their problem and she'd be gladder for the burden than she was for the limbo that Hanzo had pressed them into.

"We shouldn't relax too soon, Konami. You know better than others just what a desperate man will do to survive," Taka met her gaze full on, the intensity of his eyes burning into her, "He'll be acting soon and we have to be prepared for the worst."

"Okay," she murmured, placing her hand on his and leaning in to kiss his cheek.

"I wish you had never faked your death," he grumbled before catching her chin in his other hand and placing a gentle kiss to her forehead. He pulled away with a frown, "We could have really used your Sannin as allies in this."

She smiled, "They've helped enough."

Exasperated at an age-old argument, he shook his head and stood on shaking legs, "I'd best be getting back to Ryuu now. He'll like to know what's going on too."

"Yes," Konami murmured thoughtfully as she stood, hand reaching out to steady him, "I'd like Ryuu to know what's going on too."

* * *

**The Shadow of a Rising Sun**

* * *

"I'm setting up these seals for your protection," Konan said as she drew on Konami's arm, "Something Nagato helped me design with the fuuinjutsu know-how he got from Jiraiya-sensei. It's actually really interesting. Part of my chakra enters in through this and will trigger when you're in danger, releasing enough paper to protect you from the initial attack of just about anything. We don't really know _how_ Danzo will attack, after all," her amber eyes flashed with concern but she quickly shook her head.

"The boys better hurry up with this," Konami muttered, feeling that nervous feeling that had been pestering her all week to _do_ something. Most of the time she was able to rely on others, was aware of the fact she couldn't do _everything_ that needed to be done, but it was hard not to worry when her books all said the same thing. Hanzo would try to kill one of them, and she needed to be ready for it when his attack came.

* * *

**The Shadow of a Rising Sun**

* * *

He'd come for her himself, the weakest link. Even with all of his plans unraveling before him, he went for the simple one, the one that would break the group up her fought so valiantly against. But he didn't thrive off of information like her, he didn't know the world like she so fully did. _He didn't know her_.

Konami couldn't help the grin as he reached to grab at her. Then she laughed as soon as Ryuu began to growl besides her in bed. Such a lovely guard dog, he was—and he was hers. Already Hanzo was seizing up, Ryuu's chakra doing what it did best as it _ate and ate_ at what made Hanzo a shinobi. His chakra, his lifeline. Everyone had one.

"This is a hostile take-over," Konami said into the air and it somehow made the air that much cloying. She shifted in her footing and looked into Hanzo's eyes squarely, "You're reign is over. You'll be meeting your demise now."

He blinked slowly, before he began to cough, blood curling up and rising from his mouth as he spewed it in the form of hacking that his body was wracked with. Konami was very familiar with this and could even empathize with him for it. Ryuu was blinking at her, reading her and worried as he always was when he unleashed his kekkei genkai, his chakra a low ebb in the air as it locked onto Hanzo with a snapping dog's intensity. But she felt fine, and because of that, she had been able to use her safety kunai to stab it into Hanzo's heart. She hadn't exactly wanted to resort to killing—neither of them had. But he wouldn't keep to his word and now he was paying for it with his life. For as powerful as Hanzo was, he'd never quite met the likes of them, four war-torn orphans who promised a better future, orphans that _kept_ their promises.

An orphan like Konami who was as ruthless as he was but _smarter_ and perhaps more deadly for it. She recognized then that the only difference between them was that she was selfish for others, and he had only been consumed with thoughts of himself. Hanzo was a sad existence and ultimately useless though he fought against that. Konami was a sad existence too but she had her uses and she fought tooth and nail to keep it that way. As long as _her_ Akatsuki was alive, Konami's life had meaning.

With cold eyes, Konami watched the final moments of a man who had been the cause of suffering for many, and she shifted off the bed the moment he exhaled his last, seizing breath. She thought it was over—he was dead, shouldn't it have been?

But it hadn't been and just behind her, the familiar sound of a bomb went off.

* * *

**The Shadow of a Rising Sun**

* * *

Konami's disease was gone but that didn't seem to matter much when it came to her overall health. No longer were her cells dying off too quickly and eating her from the inside out. But her chakra was mostly a useless pool, her health always a precarious thing. For the most part, her will made her able to go about life as she wanted but there was always those days.

Days where her lungs moved too slow and were more burdensome than useful. She would cough and hack and be thankful there was no blood to the mix but that never quite stopped the pain. Her body would be sore, her bones aching to the point of agony if she dared to move. It was forced bed rest. She wouldn't have been able to argue with the doctors even if they did order her to stay in bed. Konami couldn't have dared move a muscle when her health hit those all time lows. Her mind was usually the worst in this state, however. Fever dreams visited her with a heated fervor and in them were those monsters, those eyes that melted and that face who laughed at taunted her. They'd scared her as a child and as a teenager it was no better.

Nagato's hands were touching hers, a comforting warmth but there was nothing to comfort her for long. Konami always worried that days like these, moments like them, would be her last one. That she'd slip away from the pain of her body, the heaviness of her chest and thoughts...

But she never did.

It seemed almost painfully fitting that the day of Hanzo's death was followed by a day like this. Though this day was different. There was a distinctly new agony to the mix. The part of her mind that was aware, noted that it had to do with the poison that she'd been infected with when she killed Hanzo, when the bomb had gone off.

"People fine?" she wondered out loud, her voice slurred by a touch of her fevered delirium, "Ryuu? Konan? Yahiko?"

"Yes," Nagato whispered, "Konan's paper seals in your room was able to protect the both of you from the brunt of the impact. The poison is being worked on by our best medics. We'll soon have an antidote."

But there was a trace of worry and unease in his voice, a shake that wasn't normally there. He was afraid. Konami wasn't so much afraid as she was worried for Ryuu. She didn't want to be the cause of his deaths, didn't want to take that into another life, knowing that she'd only used a boy she thought of fondly as a pet and perhaps a little brother. Konami never disrespected what was hers, after all.

Nagato caressed her sweat covered cheeks and there might have been tears in the mix because now she could distantly realize she was crying.

"Keep them safe," she whispered, her last words. She didn't think she would make it much farther, not now when her body was so fucking weak. She couldn't even move her fingers anymore, and there was so much _pain_. Her body was alight with it and she recognized the miracle that it was that she had made it so long in the first place. She'd never been intended to live so long, should have died when she was a child so many times. She was alive only due now thanks to Taka and the gift he'd given her, only alive for the people she loved so fucking much.

Konami didn't want to die—just a bit longer, please!—but she wasn't afraid of it. After all, she'd faced it once before and had been close to it even more times than she could count. Her health wasn't strong enough to combat poison and, judging by Nagato, his Mystical Palm was the only thing keeping her from succumbing to it.

Thirteen was a pretty good number, she thought. She'd warned her family, they knew not to trust the masked man. Hanzo was dead. They'd be fine. Her time had come, her _use_ was up. Everything she'd ever done had led to this point, had led to her laying in a bed, hand held so tightly by a boy she loved with all of her being. Her fingers twitched in his hold and it was her only way to express how much—it wasn't enough.

"You're not dying, silly. You can keep them safe yourself," Nagato told her and she could only manage a soft smile at that.

If she had more time, she could have done more for them, she knew. If she had more time, she would have seen the world, a world in which Yahiko's ideals and Nagato's hopes could exist, in which they could make a happier future. A world so perfect and beautiful it made her heart sing at the thought. She was crying, she knew, and she was saddened because no, she could never see that world with them, because she'd be leaving it too soon. Not enough time, never enough time.

The only thought that could satisfy her was that, at least, she had helped.

But it was poor in comparison to the raw _sadness_ that was now hanging over her. She wanted to see it! She wanted to _be_ there, with her family and she wanted to smile and laugh with them in what would feel like an eternal calm.

She met Nagato's eyes but couldn't speak everything she so desperately wanted to say to him.

_I love you, I love you, I love you_, she thought—then her body began to seize, just before the darkness took her.

* * *

**The Shadow of a Rising Sun – End**

* * *

**Unedited – Beta Still Wanted**

* * *

**Next On Monopoly: Tomorrow, Yesterday, That's Today**

* * *

_I found this chapter! Oh my god, most of this has been written and just sitting around collecting dust without me even knowing it was there all along! But I've found it and now I'm able to continue this story the way I always wanted to, so this'll be a full-scale story instead of the martyr death I was thinking of going with. Monopoly is a goooo!_

_Update date: Eh, whenever I get to writing it. Here's a sneak peek though!_

Konami was dead. She had literally died. She knew this for a fact, had felt those familiar sensations and just _known_. But then another familiar sensation came along, and it _terrified_ her. She knew what it meant, after all, loathed to experience it another time, prayed for it all to be a misunderstanding, not another world to wake up and suffer in—rebirth.

* * *

_And the extra that I dislike having take up a chapter place so here;_

* * *

_**\- Interlude -**_

* * *

Ryuu wouldn't ever tell a soul, but he had actually known humans long before he'd been found by Taka. He just didn't want them to know. He wanted no one to know the truth of his past.

He didn't want them to know that he used to have a family; an older sister, and a father.

Because he didn't want them to know...that they were gone because of him.

It wasn't something he had been aware of back then, being the age he had been. He hadn't understood the weight of a life and in all honesty, he wouldn't understand it until much, much later in his life. To him, death had always been just that. Nothing more to it. It was the sort of mindset he _had _to develop for the sake of his sanity even when it had felt wrong. This was his protection.

See, Ryuu was six when it happened. When his powers ignited to its new levels of destruction, and he hadn't even been aware of it. Only his father had been, who had sensed the drop in Ryuu's presence and he had known immediately what was happening. His own mother had had the rare kekkei genkai, and had killed herself because of its potency.

So his father knew immediately what he must do even as Ryuu failed to comprehend.

Ryuu had immediately been unable to leave his room unless under strict supervision under his sister or father. It meant that Ryuu had very little time to play out in the rain and the mud and he was forced to wear the restricting clothes that covered up every single speck of skin. He hadn't understood anything of it, only knowing that when his flesh touched it, the bunny he had been holding would seize up and die. So he soon stopped playing with the rabbits and moved onto turtles. Those were a lot of fun, because if he found the big, big, big ones, he could ride on the turtle's shell and not be afraid of hurting it. But then his father had noticed that he would sneak out of his bedroom to play with his animal friends and started putting locks on his door. He had been so confused but then he realized that his turtle rides would have to be taken during the little moments his sister decided to look after him.

It had been on a day like that, when it had all happened. Later on this would be the great regret of his life, when he fully understood the impact of what he had done but hadn't _meant_ to do.

"Ryuu?" Taka's voice rang out, clearing up the fog that was his memories. He jumped up from his corner of the room and padded forward eagerly as he gazed up at his master, "I'll be making dinner now, do you want to help me?"

His head bounced up and down, feeling his overgrown mane flop around with him, much to Taka's amusement, "Yeah, yeah yeah!"

"I'm frying the fish you caught this morning, so let me show you how it's done," Taka guided the tiny boy forward into the kitchen next door as he gathered the necessary cooking utensils and ingredients. Taka was always teaching him things, making certain he understood every single action taken. He drilled into him what consequences were, why he had to think things through before doing something or else bad things could happen. Most of his lessons made little sense to Ryuu, like the fish thing. Taka would always be here to fry his fish just the way he liked it, wouldn't he? That was what Taka had promised to him anyway.

But then he thought that maybe Taka wanted Ryuu to fry him fish and he really wanted to make Taka smile like Ryuu smiled when he ate his master's cooking. Ryuu really liked his smile, better than any other person he had known before, even his sister's. So he paid apt attention to the lesson, despite the way his tummy grumbled and his nose twitched. Well actually, when his nose twitched, Taka had the habit of placing his fingers to Ryuu's nose, but he knew how dangerous simple touches like that were, and he stopped the twitching himself. He wouldn't ever ask Taka to touch him, not after all he had already done for him. Taka had been working tirelessly, more than usual, to find a way to tame his kekkei genkai. Ryuu couldn't even count on his fingers and toes anymore how many times he had to settle down for tests.

It wasn't really his favorite part of his life with Taka, but it was something he understood was necessary.

Ryuu could still recall the first time he had ever met the man, his caretaker. It was a cold, wet, and dreary day. It hadn't been in Ame, no, he had traveled far up north from his original birth place and had taken solace in a tiny little den that used to be home to wolves. Taka, from the way he told his side of the story, had been traveling back to his hometown with his wife in tow. They had been arguing which had alerted Ryuu immediately to their presence.

Of course, he understood nothing of what they were saying but Taka would later fill in the dots once Ryuu recalled enough of the language to be told.

They had been fighting over his ability, his kekkei genkai. Hana had been particularly vocal about it, claiming that she couldn't be married to an old man. It wouldn't be right. How could she stay with someone and not grow old _with_ them? That was what she had married him for, had loved him and hated wanted that happy family who would happily live and grow before the inevitable death. Taka had ruined all of that, had stolen that chance from her—then she decided that she needed to take the chance back.

Legally, Taka was dead and she was a widow, now remarried to some shinobi in the east. They didn't keep in contact and Taka didn't bother to talk about her. No, he was far more interested in his medical research or the one that delved into the genetics of how and _why_ kekkei genkai existed. More importantly, Taka was working on figuring out a way that would help Ryuu, that would keep him safe to be around others and temper his volatile chakra. Ryuu didn't understand everything himself but he did know one thing. Taka was dependable and trustworthy and the coolest person in the entire world.

Konami was the second, but she only ranked higher than Nagato because she gave him sweets when she visited and sometimes scratched his head. If she was afraid of Ryuu, ever apprehensive, she never showed it and for that Ryuu was always thankful. She was his very first love and Nagato...

Well, Nagato was great but he _also_ liked Konami and Ryuu was always a bit confused by it all. He didn't know if Konami was _his_ or the other boy's. _She_ never weighed in on the debate though she probably didn't know that one even existed...

Eh.

Whatever.

"What are you smiling about, Ryuu?" Taka asked with a smile of his own on his wizened face. No matter how many times Ryuu had seen his face change, those eyes of his always stayed the same, bright and full of energy. It made him feel so..._alive_. This was not a man he could kill, ever.

"_Are you alright? Where is your family?"_ Taka had once asked. Ryuu hadn't had any answers then but he did now.

_Yes. With you._

Ryuu's smile grew into a grin and he pressed his face into Taka's pant leg. A hand immediately sank into his hair and ruffled the curled locks that hung there. At first, when he'd first met the older man, Ryuu had been afraid to be touched. He could still recall the simple caress his sister had planted against his cheek, the smile she had on her face before...

Taka never got hurt from Ryuu's chakra, and though he didn't understand it, he didn't question it and accepted it as a fact of life. Taka was unkillable.

Unlike his father, who had simply been _too_ easy to kill.

"Food!" Ryuu crowed loudly as Taka set to tossing the descaled and deboned fish on the pan, flipping it over with his chopsticks. Ryuu waited impaitently as Taka seasoned it, hopping where he stood and feeling saliva collect in his mouth along with his level of anticipation.

Taka laughed at his antics, in a way that Ryuu's father _never_ had. Ryuu's father _hated_ Ryuu's excitable nature, loathed to find the boy expressing much more than a smile. His sister had been the one who was calm and subtle and kind. Not Ryuu though, he was the exact opposite and though he had been _told_ that he was a bad boy for it, he never understood why.

Sure, he'd tried to change to suit his father's expectations but sooner or later, Ryuu always behaved like Ryuu would when he forgot to be anything different. It was for reasons like those that Ryuu wasn't a very good liar, could try but would always fail in the end with a confession made of heartfelt tears.

But Taka never got mad at Ryuu, at least never in a way that would leave Ryuu starved as a punishment. Taka said he _loved_ Ryuu, said that Ryuu would always be his first priority, that he would never leave him to fend for himself, that he would be there when Ryuu needed him most.

Taka _promised_.

Dinner was delicious as always that night.

* * *

**Wolf's Den – End**


End file.
